Teven Jenkins is bringing aggression and edge to Bears originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
If Teven Jenkins plays like he talks, watch out.
“I’m ready right now. I’m ready forever.”
And that was just him letting Chicago reporters know he was ready for questions after the Bears traded up to No. 39 in the second round of the NFL Draft to select the offensive tackle from Oklahoma State.
This is a guy who once blocked a player completely off the field -- like onto the bench on the sideline. His favorite block in college was a screen where he got to the safety 20 yards downfield (“I wasn’t even supposed to do that,” he said). In his pre-draft prep, Jenkins started practicing snaps, just because center was the only position he didn’t play in college.
And yes, he’s pissed he fell out of the first round.
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“I'm going to be able to make sure everybody rues that day they didn't pick me,” Jenkins said. “I'm going into every weight room, every weight, doing everything 200 percent. I don't care if my body is aching, sore, anything. I'm going to be pushing myself to the max because I want to show everybody I was a Day 1 talent.”
Watch out. And that was just one of many straightforward answers that even made the sleepy reporters want to run through their Zoom screen.
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Jenkins’ No. 1 priority on the field, and quite possibly in life?
“Keep your quarterback clean,” he said. “You always keep him upright, no matter what you have to do. Be dirty, hold, do what you gotta do. If anybody hits my quarterback after the play, that's my problem, not his. That's how I want to carry myself. That's what I want to do. That's the man I want to be.”
Yeah, I think Justin Fields is going to like his new right tackle. And how does Jenkins describe his style of play?
“My edge to me is about being able to finish anybody in the dirt. I don't care who you are lining up against me, I don't care what you earn against me, I don't care who you are, I'm going to attack you. Basically, I want to impose my will against another man and use that force against him until he gets worn out and tired. And I don't care how long it takes. I'm going to do that 24/7 and I'm going to do that all game."
Jenkins even addressed a few concerns with straight-forward simple answers that you couldn’t really argue with.
Why did he opt-out in the middle of the 2020 season?
“I basically just wanted to get healthy and it was a business decision for me to be 100 percent when coming into the NFL.”
Fair enough. What about skipping the Senior Bowl?
“To be honest with you, that was just my agent, like, he's not too much in favor of the Senior Bowl. In fact, he said it wouldn't benefit me. So I decided to listen to his advice.”
OK. Even if you don’t agree with the thought-process, you appreciate the honesty.
And how does he view the Bears?
“They’re just smash-mouth type people. They’re very aggressive. I have a lot of words that aren’t appropriate for camera use, I would say.”
So who’s ready to see this guy on the football field? Because it sounds like it’s going to be very hard to keep Jenkins off it.
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