Malcolm Jenkins (born December 20, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, earning consensus All-American honors, and winning the Jim Thorpe Award as a senior. He was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft and played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2014 to 2019.
Jenkins grew up in Piscataway, New Jersey and played high school football at Piscataway Township High School, where he helped lead his team to three consecutive state championships. He played both wide receiver and defensive back for the Chiefs football team. He also excelled at track, winning the state title in the 400 metres as a junior.
Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Jenkins was listed as No. 61 cornerback prospect in the nation in 2005.
During his freshman season at Ohio State, Jenkins spent most of his time in the nickelback position. He finished the season with 37 tackles in 10 games. In 2006, he started all 13 games at corner and was a consensus first-team All-Big Ten. He finished 2006 with 55 tackles and four interceptions. As a junior in 2007 Jenkins recorded 47 tackles and four interceptions and was named a first-team All-American by Pro Football Weekly and a first-team All-Big Ten for the second consecutive year. As a senior in 2008 he won the Jim Thorpe Award, which is given to the nation's best defensive back, after recording 57 tackles and three interceptions.
Jenkins is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He was vice president, stepmaster, and chaplain of the Ohio State chapter; he has two prominent fraternity tattoos, one on his upper left arm and a second one on his chest.
Jenkins and Vontae Davis were considered the top two defensive backs available in the 2009 NFL draft, and Jenkins drew comparisons to Terence Newman. After Jenkins ran a comparably slow 40-yard dash, some scouts considered him better suited for the safety position.
New Orleans Saints (first stint)
The New Orleans Saints selected Jenkins in the first round (14th overall) of the 2009 NFL draft. Jenkins was the first cornerback to be drafted by the Saints in the first round since Oregon's Alex Molden went eleventh overall in the 1996 NFL draft.
On August 9, 2009, the New Orleans Saints signed Jenkins on a five–year, $19 million contract that includes $11.00 million guaranteed and an initial signing bonus of $800,000. Their agreement ended Jenkins' 11-day training camp holdout.
He missed that beginning of training camp due to his contract hold out, but upon arrival, he competed against Tracy Porter, Jabari Greer, and Randall Gay to be a starting cornerback. Head coach Sean Payton named him a backup and listed him as the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the season, behind starters Tracy Porter and Jabari Greer.
On September 13, 2009, Jenkins made his professional regular season debut in the New Orleans Saints' home-opener against the Detroit Lions and made one solo tackle in their 45–27 victory. He made first career tackle on running back Aaron Brown and stopped him from scoring on an 87-yard kick return in the third quarter. He was inactive for the Saints' 24–10 victory against the New York Jets in Week 4 after due to an ankle sprain he sustained the previous week. He aggravated his ankle sprain and was inactive as the Saints won 46–34 at the Miami Dolphins in Week 7. He was named a starting cornerback heading into Week 11 due to Jabari Greer injuring his groin in Week 9 and Tracy Porter spraining his MCL the following week. On November 22, 2009, Jenkins earned his first career start and recorded seven combined tackles (five solo), set a season-high with two pass deflections, and made the first interception of his career on a pass attempt thrown by Josh Freeman to wide receiver Antonio Bryant during the second quarter of a 38–7 victory at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 11. He remained the starter for the next six games after Greer was sidelined for the next seven games (Weeks 10–16) and Porter was sidelined for the next four games (11–14) In Week 13, he collected a season-high nine solo tackles and broke up a pass in a 33–30 win at the Washington Redskins. On December 27, 2009, Jenkins made a season-high ten combined tackles (eight solo) in the Saints' 20–17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 16. He finished his rookie season in 2009 with 55 combined tackles (49 solo), four pass deflections, and an interception in 14 games and six starts.
The New Orleans Saints finished first in the NFC South with a 13–3 record, clinching a first round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. On January 16, 2010, Jenkins appeared in his first career playoff game as the Saints' defeated the Arizona Cardinals 45–14 in the NFC Divisional Round. The Saints reached the Super Bowl after winning the NFC Championship Game in a 31–28 win against the Minnesota Vikings. On February 7, 2010, Jenkins appeared in Super Bowl XLIV and recorded four solo tackles and a pass deflection in the Saints' 31–17 victory against the Indianapolis Colts.
During the 2010 NFL draft, the Saints selected Patrick Robinson in the first round (32nd overall). His addition to a group including Jabari Greer, Tracy Porter, and Randall Gay, became the catalyst for Jenkins transition to safety. On May 8, 2010, head coach Sean Payton addressed media during a press conference at rookie mini-camp, officially stating he intended to move Jenkins to safety during training camp. During training camp, Jenkins started his transition to the safety position and also competed to be a backup safety against Usama Young under defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. He performed well enough to earn the starting role at free safety after starter Darren Sharper was added to the PUP list as he recovered from undergoing microfracture surgery. He was paired with starting strong safety Roman Harper to begin the regular season.
In Week 4, he recorded four solo tackles and had his first career sack on quarterback Jimmy Clausen for a four–yard loss during the closing seconds of the fourth quarter as the Saints defeated the Carolina Panthers 16–14. In Week 7, he collected a season-high nine combined tackles (eight solo) during a 30–17 loss to the Cleveland Browns. In Week 9, he sustained a neck injury during a 34–3 victory at the Carolina Panthers and was subsequently inactive for the Saints' 34–19 win against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 11. On November 25, 2010, Jenkins made four combined tackles (three solo) and sparked a comeback by the Saints when they were down 27–23 with 3:20 remaining in the fourth quarter after he forced a fumble by wide receiver Roy Williams and recovered it, leading it to a 14-yard touchdown pass by Drew Brees to win 30–27 at the Dallas Cowboys. Following his performance, head coach Sean Payton said Jenkins performed "one of those plays that inspires everybody on the team". He was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance. On December 12, 2010, Jenkins made four solo tackles, tied his season-high of three pass deflections, and had a season-high two interceptions and scored the first touchdown of his career during a 31–13 victory against the St. Louis Rams in Week 14. He scored the first touchdown of his career on a pick-six, intercepting a pass by Sam Bradford and returned it for a 96-yards touchdown in the third quarter. His performance earned him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time in 2010. Jenkins injured his knee in the Saints' Week 17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was forced to miss the NFC Wildcard Game. In his first season at safety, Jenkins had a total of 64 combined tackles (54 solo), made 12 pass deflections, two interceptions, one forced fumble, a fumble recovery, one sack, and a touchdown in 15 games and 15 starts.
He entered training camp as the de facto starting free safety, following the departure of Darren Sharper after the Saints elected not to re-sign him. He returned as the starting free safety, alongside Roman Harper, to begin the season.