Scouting Report: Kris Jenkins (IDL) - Michigan
Sales Pitch: "Tremendous run defending IDL with scheme and alignment versatility. Is a good athlete with impressive length and hand power but has yet to take the pass rushing jump scouts are looking for to elevate him from a super role player to a quality starter."
Athletic Profile
Height: 6’ 2 3/4”
Weight: 299 lbs
Arm Length: 34”
Hand Size: 9 3/8”
40 Yard Dash: 4.91
10 Yard Split: 1.70
Vertical: 30”
Broad Jump: 9’ 7”
Short Shuttle: 4.78
3-Cone: N/A
Age: 22
Relative Athletic Score: 8.99 / 10.00
Statistics
Career: 44 Pressures - 4 Sacks - 16 Tackles - 15 STOPs
2023: 20 Pressures - 2 Sacks - 30 Tackles - 26 STOPs
Strengths
Plus athlete with excellent length
Multi-year starter and 2023 team captain
High IQ player with excellent run game instincts
Stout at the point of attack versus solo blocks and double teams
Quickness and agility to win as a penetrator
Length and reaction skills to play in 2 gap run schemes
Quick violent hands allow him to quickly shed blocks in the run game
Displays excellent pursuit effort and angles
Sub 6% career missed tackle rate
Agility and power to create openings on twists and stunts
Weaknesses
Run first defensive tackle with limited reps in the A-Gap
Undersized frame for a run stuffing IDL
Is delayed getting out of his stance as a pass rusher
Simplistic pass rush plan with a limited move set
Marginal pass rush impact
4 sacks in 44 career games
Summary
Kris Jenkins, son of former long time NFL lineman Kris Jenkins, is an athletic interior defensive lineman who excels at run defense. The former 3-Star recruit was a key contributor to Michigan’s National Title run in 2023, a season in which he was a team captain and was awarded both All Big-10 and All-American honors. Jenkins can play in a variety of schemes as a run defender. He is a good athlete for the position, displaying plus agility and quickness, allowing him to win as a single gap penetrator. He also displays impressive strength, a trait that allows him to not only hold his ground versus blockers at the point of attack but push them backwards and squeeze the hole. Jenkins has long arms for the position (78th percentile) and powerful hands that allow him to strike, extend and shed blocks at the point of attack. When combined with his excellent run game instincts he is a one man wrecking crew in the run game. Jenkins’ was an extremely dependable and consistent player for the Wolverines defense. He displays tremendous effort as a pursuit player and rarely missed tackles (sub 6% career missed tackle rate). Jenkins should translate immediately to the NFL as a run defender giving him a high floor but his pass rush limitations raise concern about his ceiling. While he has the athletic gifts to be a quality pass rusher but never put it together during his time with the Wolverines, leaving Michigan with only 4 sacks and 44 pressures in 44 career games. While his win rate did jump 3 percentage points in 2023 (7.6% in 2022 vs 11% in 2023) he did not take the jump scouts were looking for. His violent active hands in the run game do not translate to pass rush where he has a very limited move set. Jenkins’ hands are slow to fire and are inconsistently located. Even when he lands his initial punches he does not display counters or secondary moves to win later in reps. A majority of his pressure comes via his physical tools, bull rushes and long arms his most effective moves. Jenkins displays the flexibility to flip his hips at the top of his rushes and the closing speed to finish sacks on the rare chance he does get a win. He also has the lateral agility and power to open up lanes for teammates on stunts but needs to have pass rush production manufactured for him at this point. Jenkins’ projects as a early down rotational 3T in an even front. Until his pass rush impact improves he will find himself as a super role player. but given his physical gifts he could easily develop into a quality starter with proper coaching.