A. J. Jenkins
Alfred Alonzo "A. J." Jenkins (born September 30, 1989[1]) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, and also played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Illinois.
![]() Jenkins with the San Francisco 49ers in 2012 | |||||||||
No. 17, 15 | |||||||||
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Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Born: | Jacksonville, Florida | September 30, 1989||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | Jacksonville (FL) Terry Parker | ||||||||
College: | Illinois | ||||||||
NFL Draft: | 2012 / Round: 1 / Pick: 30 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Early years
Jenkins attended Terry Parker High School in Jacksonville, Florida, where he played on the football team. He finished his junior year with 32 catches for 500 yards, and also rushed for another 251 yards on 40 carries in 2007. As a senior, he hauled in 41 passes for 515 yards, scoring four touchdowns. He was named to Scout.com's Florida Top-50 team. He was ranked the 59th-best recruit in the state of Florida and the No. 53 wide receiver nationally by Rivals.com. He was also named to the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Super Southern 100 as the 10th-best wide receiver.
He was also a standout sprinter on the track team. In 2006, he posted a personal-best time of 10.75 seconds in the 100-meter dash at the District Meet.[2]
College career
In his first three seasons (2008–2010), he totaled 1,849 all-purpose yards, including 1,156 receiving yards and 694 return yards.[1] On October 1, 2011, he had a career-best performance against Northwestern, with 12 catches for 268 yards and three touchdowns.[3] His performance against Northwestern broke the Illinois single-game receiving record, ranks fourth in Big Ten Conference history, and earned him Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after the Northwestern game.[4] Through the first 11 games of his senior season, Jenkins had 1,166 receiving yards and seven touchdown receptions.[5]
As of November 20, 2011, Jenkins's 1,166 receiving yards during the 2011 season ranked second in the Big Ten Conference and 11th among NCAA Division I FBS players.[6] At the conclusion of the 2011 season, Jenkins was named First Team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media.
Professional career
Height | Weight | Arm length | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 0 1⁄4 in (1.84 m) |
190 lb (86 kg) |
32 3⁄4 in (0.83 m) |
4.37 s | 1.56 s | 2.49 s | 38 1⁄2 in (0.98 m) |
10 ft 4 in (3.15 m) |
12 reps | ||||
All values from NFL Combine[7] |
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers selected Jenkins in the first round (30th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft on April 26, 2012.[8] News of his draft was referenced in that same night's live episode of the NBC sitcom 30 Rock - cast member Cheyenne Jackson performed the show's opening theme song and referenced Jenkins having just been drafted to prove the show was airing live on the west coast.
On June 20, 2012, the San Francisco 49ers signed Jenkins to a four-year, $6.94 million contract.[9]
Although healthy all season, Jenkins was active for only three of the 49ers 16 regular season games.[10] In his rookie regular season he played in only 37 offensive snaps and was targeted with a pass just once, which he dropped.[11]
At the end of the 2012 season, Jenkins and the 49ers appeared in Super Bowl XLVII. He appeared in the game but recorded no meaningful statistics as the 49ers fell to the Baltimore Ravens by a score of 34–31.[12]
Kansas City Chiefs
On August 19, 2013, Jenkins was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs for wide receiver Jon Baldwin.[13]
During a Thursday Night Football game on September 19, 2013 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Jenkins recorded his first career reception, thrown by former 49ers teammate Alex Smith. The reception was good for 6 yards. His first reception came 511 days after he was drafted.
On February 17, 2015, Jenkins was released by the Chiefs.[14]
Dallas Cowboys
On May 26, 2015, Jenkins was signed by the Dallas Cowboys, but was released prior to the start of the regular season on September 5, 2015.[15]
References
- "A.J. Jenkins Profile". FightingIllini.com. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
- http://www.fhsaa.org/sites/default/files/orig_uploads/sports/track-field/archives/2005-06/district/3_4.htm
- Herb Gould (October 4, 2011). "Illini's A.J. Jenkins lets his game do the talking". Chicago Sun-Times.
- Scott Powers (October 3, 2011). "Illinois WR Jenkins earns Big Ten honor". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
- "A.J. Jenkins Statistics". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
- "NCAA Division I-A Player Receiving Statistics – 2011 (Receiving Yards Leaders – All Players)". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
- "A.J. Jenkins Combine Profile", NFL.com, retrieved April 27, 2012.
- Lourie, Steven. "San Francisco 49ers 2012 Draft Grades". Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
- "Spotrac.com: A.J. Jenkins contract". spotrac.com. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
- ProFootballReference.com: A.J. Jenkins
- SFGate.com: 49ers hoping for first contribution from first-round pick
- "Super Bowl XLVII - San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens - February 3rd, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
- Pelissero, Tom (August 19, 2013). "49ers deal WR A.J. Jenkins to Chiefs for WR Jon Baldwin". USA Today. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
- Wesseling, Chris (February 17, 2015). "Donnie Avery, A.J. Jenkins released by Kansas City Chiefs". NFL.com. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- Helman, David (September 5, 2015). "Vaughan, Showers Among Notable Cuts As Cowboys Meet 53-Man Roster Limit". DallasCowboys.com. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · ESPN · Pro Football Reference
- Illinois profile