Jets LB Jenkins dedicated to building off career year
Jordan Jenkins’ best season as a Jet opened his eyes. Not for what he accomplished. But what he could do if he really dedicated himself.
“It’s the [adage], you get what you put in,” the outside linebacker said. “If you want to be a pro, [act like] a pro.”
That meant getting in the best possible condition of his life. It meant eating better, lowering his body fat to 9 percent, and then seeing what he could really do. He began getting meals prepared by a personal chef, completely changing his diet.
“To me, I want to go as far as I can take it,” said the 6-foot-3, 259-pound Jenkins, who posted a personal best seven sacks a year ago, along with two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, 35 tackles, 15 quarterback hits and six tackles for loss. “There’s a lot of guys who I played with throughout my entire lifetime, whether it be in high school, college or even now. A lot of guys that didn’t make it to this level and I’ve been honored to make it to this level. I’d be a fool if I didn’t try to take it as far as I can go and put in as much work as I can.”
As the Jets enter this season with heightened expectations, Jenkins is a key to their pass rush from the edge. The hope is he can build off last season and be even more of a factor under new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
Jenkins, a fourth-year pro from Georgia, wouldn’t say how he will be used differently in Williams’ variety of blitz-happy, aggressive packages. There will be similarities and differences. But the 25-year-old said he can’t wait to see what playing for Williams can do for his career.
“I love the guy. He’s intense. He’s loud. He’s an aggressive guy. He’s a take-no-s--t type of guy,” Jenkins said. “He says what guys need to hear. He’s not going to sugarcoat you. He’s not going to baby you and he’s not going to belittle you. He’s going to treat you like a man and you have to respond like a man.
“He can draw the best out of me in my mind. He’s a coach that’s not going to let me slack off. He’s the type of coach who will push you. Gregg brings the aggression out in guys.”
Jenkins seems to be ready for it — just look at his offseason.
Jets general manager Joe Douglas continued to address depth on the offensive line Monday by swinging a trade with the Ravens for guard Alex Lewis.
The Jets sent a conditional seventh-round pick in 2020 to Baltimore, according to a source.
Lewis, 27, was on the verge of being cut by the Ravens. He actually posted a farewell message to Baltimore earlier Monday on Instagram.
This is the second move Douglas has swung in the last week in an attempt to bolster the offensive line, which has been an afterthought for the Jets for the last decade. He convinced center Ryan Kalil to come out of retirement and join the Jets on Thursday.
Douglas must have been worried that Lewis would be claimed on waivers by the Cardinals or 49ers. The Jets are third in the waiver order. Lewis started 18 games for the Ravens over two seasons.
The 2016 fourth-round pick out of Nebraska has had trouble staying healthy. Lewis had just been cleared after opening training camp on the physically unable to perform list following offseason shoulder surgery. A sprained ankle sidelined him for six weeks in 2016 and he missed the 2017 season with a shoulder injury that required surgery. Last year, he missed two games with a neck injury.
The Jets have Kelechi Osemele and Brian Winters starting at guard. Lewis likely will be fighting to be a backup.