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.
Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Jenkins was listed as No. 61 cornerback prospect in the nation in 2005.
Jenkins is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He was vice president, stepmaster,Dave Campbell, "OSU's Jenkins knows steps to success", Cleveland.com, October 24, 2008. and chaplain of the Ohio State chapter; he has two prominent fraternity Human branding, one on his upper left armKen Gordon, "Meet a Buckeye: CB Malcolm Jenkins", Columbus Dispatch, September 13, 2008. and a second one on his chest.Malcolm Jenkins, "Play: Ohio State CB Malcolm Jenkins", Sporting News, March 5, 2009.
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.
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.
In Week 14, Jenkins collected a season-high ten combined tackles (eight solo) during a 22–17 victory at the Tennessee Titans. On December 26, 2011, Jenkins made one solo tackle, tied his season-high of two pass deflections, and also scored the second touchdown of his career after he recovered a fumble that linebacker Scott Shanle forced by wide receiver Julio Jones and returned it for a 30-yard touchdown as the Saints routed the Atlanta Falcons 45–16. He was inactive as a healthy scratch for the Saints 45–17 victory against the Carolina Panthers in Week 17 as head coach Sean Payton chose to rest his starting lineup in preparation for the playoffs as they had already clinched a playoff berth with a 12–3 record. He completed the 2011 season with 77 combined tackles (63 solo), nine passes defensed, and a sack in 15 games and 15 starts.
The New Orleans Saints finished first in the NFC South during the 2011 NFL season with a 13–3 record. On January 7, 2012, Jenkins had his first career start in a playoff game and made five combined tackles (four solo) during a 45–28 win against the Detroit Lions during the NFC Wildcard Game. On January 14, 2012, he started in the NFC Divisional Round and made eight solo tackles, a pass deflection, and sacked quarterback Alex Smith as the Saints lost 36–32 at the San Francisco 49ers.
On November 5, 2012, he collected a season-high 13 combined tackles (seven solo) in the Saints' 28–13 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 9. In Week 11, Jenkins recorded six combined tackles, broke up a pass, and returned an interception for a touchdown during a 38–17 victory at the Oakland Raiders. He returned an interception by quarterback Carson Palmer, that was intended for tight end Brandon Myers, for a 55-yard touchdown in the first quarter. The touchdown was Jenkins' second pick six of his career. Jenkins was inactive for the last three regular season games (Weeks 15–17) due to a hamstring injury. Jenkins finished the 2012 season with 94 combined tackles (65 solo), seven pass deflections, an interception, and a touchdown in 13 games and 13 starts.
On October 13, 2013, Jenkins recorded eight combined tackles, a pass deflection, and earned a career-high 1½ sacks on Tom Brady during a 30–27 loss at the New England Patriots in Week 6. Jenkins was inactive for two games (Weeks 9–10) due to a back injury. In Week 13, he collected a season-high ten combined tackles (seven solo) in the Saints' 34–7 loss at the Seattle Seahawks. He finished the 2013 season with 68 combined tackles (44 solo), six pass deflections, 2½ sacks, and two interceptions in 14 games and 14 starts.
The New Orleans Saints finished second in the NFC South with an 11–5 record and defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 26–24 in the NFC Wildcard Game. On January 11, 2014, Jenkins played in his last game as a member of the Saints and recorded five combined tackles during 23–15 loss at the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional Round.
On September 28, 2014, Jenkins recorded seven combined tackles, a pass deflection, and returned an interception by quarterback Colin Kaepernick for a 53-yard touchdown during a 26–21 loss at the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4. The pick six marked his third touchdown of his career and was his third consecutive game with an interception. In Week 15, he collected a season-high eight solo tackles in the Eagles' 38–27 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Jenkins finished the 2014 season with 80 combined tackles (64 solo), 15 passes defensed, three interceptions, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a touchdown in 16 games and 16 starts.
Jenkins finished his second and last season under defensive coordinator Billy Davis with a career-high 109 combined tackles (90 solo), ten pass deflections, two interceptions, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery in 16 games and 16 starts. Pro football focus gave Jenkins an overall grade of 85.8, which ranked second among all qualifying safeties in 2015. On January 25, 2016, Jenkins announced via Twitter that he was added to the 2016 Pro Bowl after originally being named a seventh alternate.
The Philadelphia Eagles' new head coach Doug Pederson retained Jenkins as a safety, alongside Rodney McLeod. In Week 2, he collected five combined tackles, deflected a pass, and sacked quarterback Jay Cutler during a 29–14 win at the Chicago Bears. On October 16, 2016, Jenkins recorded six combined tackles, two pass deflections, and returned an interception for a touchdown in the Eagles' 27–20 loss at the Washington Redskins in Week 6. He intercepted a pass by Kirk Cousins that was initially intended for tight end Vernon Davis and returned it for a 64-yard touchdown in the second quarter. On December 22, 2016, Jenkins made six combined tackles, a season-high three pass deflections, intercepted two passes, and returned one for a touchdown in a 24–19 victory against the New York Giants in Week 16. He intercepted a pass by quarterback Eli Manning originally intended for tight end Will Tye and returned it for a 34-yard touchdown in the first quarter. It became Jenkins' sixth pick six of his career. Jenkins completed the 2016 season with 72 combined tackles (47 solo), nine passes defensed, three interceptions, two touchdowns, and a sack in 16 games and 16 starts. He was ranked the 90th best player in the league on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017. NFL Top 100 Players of 2017 - No. 90 Malcolm Jenkins
The Philadelphia Eagles finished first in the NFC East with a 13–3 record and received a first round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Eagles advanced to the Super Bowl after defeating the Atlanta Falcons 15–10 in the NFC Divisional Round and the Minnesota Vikings 38–7 in the NFC Championship Game. On February 4, 2018, Jenkins started in Super Bowl LII and recorded four solo tackles and a pass deflection as the Eagles defeated the New England Patriots 41–33. The victory in Super Bowl LII marked Jenkins' second Super Bowl victory and became the second time he helped a team achieve its first Super Bowl win in franchise history.
In the wild-card round of the playoffs against the Chicago Bears, Jenkins recorded 5 tackles during the 16–15 win which became known as Double Doink. In the divisional round of the playoffs against Jenkins' former team, the New Orleans Saints, he recorded a team high 10 tackles during the 20–14 loss.
In the wild-card round of the playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks, Jenkins recorded a team high 9 tackles and sacked Russell Wilson twice during the 17–9 loss.
The Eagles declined to pick up Jenkins' contract option for the 2020 season, making him a free agent at the start of the new league year on March 18, 2020.
In Week 2 against the Las Vegas Raiders, Jenkins recorded his first sack of the season on Derek Carr during the 24–34 loss.
In Week 9 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jenkins recorded his first interception of the season off a pass thrown by Tom Brady during the 38–3 win.
In Week 17 against the Carolina Panthers, Jenkins recorded his 3rd interception of the season off a pass thrown by Teddy Bridgewater during the 33–7 win. Jenkins' third interception of the season tied his single-season career high.
On March 30, 2022, Jenkins announced his retirement.
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On June 4, 2020, Jenkins posted an Instagram video in response to Drew Brees's comments that criticized protests during the National Anthem.
In July 2020, Jenkins received backlash after issuing a message that was seen by many in the Jewish community as dismissive in response to DeSean Jackson posting anti-semitic posts on his Instagram account that included a quote falsely attributed to Adolf Hitler. Jenkins said that Jackson's posts were a "distraction" and that "Jewish people aren't our problem."
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