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| Jenkins could be celebrated in St. Louis if he can keep it together off the field. (Getty Images) |
The Rams took a big gamble in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft when they selected troubled North Alabama cornerback Janoris Jenkins with the 39th pick overall.
On the field, Jenkins is a potential superstar. Off the field, he's a potential trainwreck. But Rams general manager Les Snead told Peter King of Sports Illustrated that the team will put some safeguards up to help protect their investment.
"Snead, or someone from the organization, will call him or talk to him every day about his life, which is a mess," King wrote Monday.
Snead also said that the Rams were only willing to roll the dice on Jenkins when they took him because of their surplus of draft picks they had -- five in the top 65 and four in the top 50.
"Without all the extra picks, obviously, it would have been tougher to take a chance on Janoris,'' Snead said.
But because the Rams had such an abundance of picks, as a result of various draft-day maneuvers, they were able to take some chances on guys.
"Draft picks are like stocks," Snead said. "But our draft, as a whole, is sort of like a mutual fund."
In that sense, St. Louis wanted to get some safer picks, but also wanted to take a risk in some spots. If Jenkins pans out, he's going to be an absolute steal at 39 -- he's a top-five player in terms pure ability.
And if that happens, the Rams could suddenly boast one of the more impressive secondaries in the NFL, just a year from having one of the absolute worst: Cortland Finnegan (acquired in free agency), Jenkins, Brian Jackson and another talented rookie in Trumaine Johnson could form a surprisingly formidable defensive backfield.
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