Oakland Raiders: Free Agents The Team Should Make A Run At This Offseason
By Kevin Saito
If McKenzie is unable to land Smith from the Chiefs, a very solid alternative is Janoris Jenkins. Jenkins, if you remember, burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2012, picking off four balls and returning three of them for touchdowns.
Since then, he’s been solid in the Rams secondary and along with Trumaine Johnson, formed a much better than average cornerback tandem. But with the Rams “lowballing” Jenkins in their offer to retain him, and then putting the franchise tag on Johnson rather than him, it’s looking like Jenkins will be looking for a new home.
If Smith is plan one, the Jenkins should be plan one-A. At 5’10”, 191 pounds, he doesn’t have the ideal size for a cornerback that Norton would like. But he tends to play bigger than his stature and is very physical against the run and the pass.
Smith is a glider and is smoother in coverage, but Jenkins won’t cheat you in effort. He contests every route and every ball. And though he may draw an occasional contact penalty, he’s not the yellow flag machine that Hayden is and overall, plays smart football.
Plus, he has the added incentive of proving that the Rams tagged – and paid – the wrong guy. While it’s true that Johnson outshined Jenkins this past season (Johnson racked up seven picks to Jenkins’ three), there is an argument to be made – at least, Jenkins said so on Twitter – that Johnson saw more balls thrown his way and had more inteception opportunities because Jenkins had the other side of the field on lockdown.
The Raiders need a corner in the worst way possible. If they can’t pry Smith out of Kansas City – or away from another team – McKenzie really needs to push for Jenkins.
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