I guess Thursday’s visit with John Jenkins went well:
Congrats to @jenkinsjohn6 on agreeing to terms with the @ChicagoBears #Bears
— Sunny Shah (@SunnyTheAgent) March 17, 2017
According to Sunny Shah, Jenkins’ agent, the Chicago Bears added some much needed depth and talent to their defensive line Friday, agreeing to terms with the defensive tackle.
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As you may know, Jenkins will be familiar to/with Bears GM Ryan Pace, because Pace spent time in the New Orleans Saints’ organization while Jenkins was still there. Indeed, Jenkins played three full seasons in New Orleans, seeing his most significant playing time in 2015 when he made twelve starts for the Saints.
Jenkins seemed to be an ascending nose tackle in 2014 and 2015, when he received grades of 73.0 and 75.8 from Pro Football Focus in his second and third seasons in the league. Unfortunately, his grades slipped down to 44.8 in 2016 – a season he split with the Seattle Seahawks. Coming into this offseason, Dallas Robinson of Pro Football Rumors ranked Jenkins as the 13th best free agent among interior defenders.
Checking in at 6-foot-4 and 364 pounds, Jenkins brings a significant amount of size and bulk, in addition to depth. None of the Bears’ other interior defensive line players who played a significant role in 2016 (Mitch Unrein, Jonathan Bullard, Will Sutton, Akiem Hicks, Eddie Goldman) weighed in at more than 320 pounds.
The former third-round pick is more of a traditional nose tackle in a 3-4 scheme, and a player defensive coordinator Vic Fangio could trust in a pinch if he needed to start for Goldman, who has finished the last two seasons on injured reserve.
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