In what came as a bit of a surprise, Brandon Jenkins of Florida State has decided to forgo his likely-eligible medical redshirt season for the 2013 NFL Draft, via Brandon Mellor on twitter.
The once highly touted pass rushing prospect considered declaring for the 2012 NFL Draft as a junior, but chose to stay for his senior season. After an 8 sack season that showcased his edge rushing ability for a 6’2, 260 pound defensive end in 2011, he returned to solidify his draft stock as a Top 50 prospect.
But returning for his senior season ended up being more disappointing and frustrating thanks to a Lisfranc injury to his left foot after the first week of the season. And now Jenkins has decided to move on from Florida State University for the 2013 NFL Draft.
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The pre-season All-ACC selection and viewed as one of the premier rushers in the country for College Football awards and the 2-13 NFL Draft, but was forced to be put on the back burner as a prospect. His position, opposite to future Top 10 pick Bjoern Werner, was given to Tank Carradine, who made the most of his first full time starting gig this season to develop into a Top 100 prospect himself.
So coming into a season where Jenkins was the most highly viewed of the Florida State defensive linemen in the media and maybe on the field, Jenkins will need to fight to regain recognition compared to his Florida State teammates.
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As of now, it’s unclear whether this decision will prove to be the right one for Jenkins. While he’ll be eligible and likely invited to the Senior Bowl/Shrine Game, it won’t be just that easy for him to regain his fringe 1st round pre-season grade he likely garnered from NFL teams. He’ll need to show not only that his injury both is completely healed and it won’t be a lingering injury, as well as prove he’s more than just a speed and situational edge rusher thanks to the fact that he hasn’t shown a complete skill set for the defensive end/3-4 outside linebacker position.
After assuming that he would declare, Jenkins currently garners a 3rd round grade from Optimum Scouting, just behind his teammate Tank Carradine.
His stock may be “regained” through all-star games, but the injury tests at the NFL Combine in February will make all the difference in where Jenkins ends up. We’ve seen players like Chris Polk and Cam Johnson last year be completely undrafted thanks to injuries discovered at the NFL Combine.
There’s a lot of pressure on Brandon Jenkins to go through hoops the rest of the way before scouts and GMs will give him their stamp of approval. While coming back another season may have been the best way to clear up these injury/positional issues for Jenkins, going NFL now will be an interesting story line to follow the rest of the draft process for the speed rusher/3-4 outside linebacker prospect.
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