Michael Jenkins doesn't foresee an issue in picking up Patriots offense
The New England Patriots offense is in renovation mode. After the departure of Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd, they needed to heavily invest in giving Tom Brady someone to throw to. The most experienced of the additions is Michael Jenkins, signed as a Free Agent after leaving the Minnesota Vikings this offseason.
And he believes he can succeed where other free agent WR additions have failed (*cough* ChadOchocinco Johnson *cough*), and be on the same page as Brady when the season comes around.
How big of a role Jenkins will have on the offense, no-one quite knows, simply because there's no core depth chart to measure him against. He is one of 5 new additions at WR for the Patriots, he is 1 of 3 with previous NFL experience: him, Danny Amendola and Donald Jones, and two rookies: Aaron Dobson and Josh Boyce. At 6'4'', he can certainly be a redzone threat, and he didn't have a bad year with Minnesota, having 40 catches on a team which relies on its run game so heavily, so there's still life there.
So while he won't be the key to the Pats getting to the Super Bowl, he'll be a guy to sub in and ask to make a few plays, and generally know what he's doing when he's on the field. Which it sounds like he can do. And he can also provide some mentoring for the rookie WRs, and help them if they're struggling with the playbook, or some of the subtleties of playing in the NFL. Which can't be a bad thing.
I'm on Twitter @BrendanAnnely
And he believes he can succeed where other free agent WR additions have failed (*cough* Chad
"I can’t say why (others) have struggled before. I’m just going to try to do my part in studying, be well-rounded in knowing all the positions within the receiver positions, and fit in where I can," Jenkins said, as the former first round pick out of Ohio State met the media for the first time today. "I’ve always tried to consider myself a quick learner in being able to pick it up so hopefully that continues to happen for me." Source
How big of a role Jenkins will have on the offense, no-one quite knows, simply because there's no core depth chart to measure him against. He is one of 5 new additions at WR for the Patriots, he is 1 of 3 with previous NFL experience: him, Danny Amendola and Donald Jones, and two rookies: Aaron Dobson and Josh Boyce. At 6'4'', he can certainly be a redzone threat, and he didn't have a bad year with Minnesota, having 40 catches on a team which relies on its run game so heavily, so there's still life there.
So while he won't be the key to the Pats getting to the Super Bowl, he'll be a guy to sub in and ask to make a few plays, and generally know what he's doing when he's on the field. Which it sounds like he can do. And he can also provide some mentoring for the rookie WRs, and help them if they're struggling with the playbook, or some of the subtleties of playing in the NFL. Which can't be a bad thing.
I'm on Twitter @BrendanAnnely
