By the Numbers: New Titans CB Janoris “Jackrabbit” Jenkins

The Titans have officially agreed to terms with former Saints cornerback Janoris “Jackrabbit” Jenkins, according to the team:

Terms of the multi-year deal have not been released.

This is an interesting signing. Jenkins will turn 33-years-old next season, which is a tad concerning for a defensive back. Ignoring his age, Jennkins was legitimately really good last season. He started 13 games for the Saints last year and recorded three interceptions, 12 pass breakups, and 55 tackles. The Saints released Jenkins recently due to their nightmare cap situation.

A good sign here is that I’ve done some homework, and both Saints fans and media members that cover the team locally have nothing but great things to say about Jenkins both as a player and as a teammate. He’s put up some great numbers over the past few years:

The Titans, as you know, released both of their starting cornerbacks in recent weeks — Malcolm Butler and Adoree Jackson. Jenkins is clearly part of their contingency plan to completely revamp their secondary. Barring another surprising move, Jenkins appears set to start on the outside during the 2021 season.

The Titans clearly want to play more man coverage going forward, and Jenkins fits the scheme:

Additionally, Jenkins had this to say during his introductory press conference:

“It feels great (to be here),” Jenkins said during a video conference call on Friday. “I got welcomed with open arms. I just feel like I was a part of the missing piece. They have a run game, they know how to control the ball, a nice front, linebackers pretty good, just got (Bud) Dupree. I feel like I can come in and give leadership and that veteran mentality to the back-end guys.”

Jenkins is a great teammate and locker room guy. He’s a leader that plays the game with terrific energy. As much as this signing is about the Titans trying to get better on the outside, I feel like it’s also about trying to revamp the attitude of the defense.

Let’s take a deeper look into how PFF graded Jenkins throughout the 2020 season.

Total snaps played: 805

Coverage snaps: 531

Run defense snaps: 274

Interceptions: 3 (T-9)

Targets: 78 (T-22)

Receptions allowed: 46 (T-33)

Solo tackles: 43 (T-46)

Assists: 9

* CB with at least 20% of league-highest volume are ranked.

Overall grade: 67.4

Coverage grade: 66.0

Run defense grade: 72.9

Those are some impressive numbers.

A year from now, it’ll be interesting to judge if the Titans made the right decision by replacing Butler and/or Jackson with Jenkins.