Post Snap With Malcolm Jenkins: Many Were Wrong About Him
Malcolm Jenkins is a Super Bowl champion and veteran NFL safety. He sits down with CBS Philly's Joe Santoliquito every week. Listen to Malcom live each Tuesday at 5 with Ant & Rob on 94WIP. All of Jenkins' Post Snap interviews are archived at CBSPhilly.com/Jenkins.
PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) — The Eagles sitting at 5-1 at the bye week hasn't really been a surprise, according to Eagles' safety Malcolm Jenkins. Though new to the team as a free agent, Jenkins bonded quickly with the Eagles, and he readily accepted the attitude of the team.
"We're 5-1 and we're coming off a bye week rested and this is where we want to be; nothing has really surprised me," Jenkins said. "Going through training camp, I think everyone thought we would be right where we are. I think the biggest surprise is the different ways in which we've won. I think that says a lot about the guys in our building, but we all really envisioned being successful this year."
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Jenkins said the biggest surprise, personally, has been how quickly he's been able to absorb and fit into the defense.
Throughout the Delaware Valley area, Jenkins has been a rather great surprise. While fans were clamoring for T.J. Ward and Jarius Byrd, Jenkins was considered a door prize when he signed with the Eagles.
He's proven to be a little more than that. Byrd was supposed to replace Jenkins in New Orleans—that didn't exactly work out, now that Byrd is lost for the season with a torn lateral meniscus. And Ward has yet to have an interception. Jenkins has three—including a pick-six.
Many were wrong about Malcolm Jenkins—in and out of the NFL.
"The NFL is a league where you're constantly being evaluated," Jenkins said. "I had a couple of big years, and a couple of years where I wanted more, especially as a first rounder, the expectations are what they should have been. I'm my biggest critic. I know a lot of people may have been disappointed, but I also knew some of it was schematic and some of it was where the team was at the time. I knew in the Eagles' scheme, it was something I thrive in and Philly was a place I could turn over a new leaf.
"For me, it's been motivation and been refreshing for me coming into Philly. It was hearing the doubt and people not really knowing too much about me, judging my worth. It took me back home to what I've known my whole life. When I got to the NFL [with the Saints], we won a Super Bowl early, I played early. But it's funny, that chip on my shoulder wasn't as big as it is now.
"The team you invested so much into, won a championship with and the team that you grew on lets you go, then you go to another city that wishes that they got somebody else, that motivates me. It doesn't bring doubt. I know what I had to offer and what this team had to offer me. I keep the doubt and judgments fresh in my mind. I love having a chip on my shoulder, like I had in college and back in high school. I think it's helped so far. One thing I do understand, when free agency hits, all anyone could judge is what anyone has done recently. I know T.J. Ward and Jarius Byrd are tremendous players and they and had phenomenal years. I could totally understand why people would want them over me, but when people said I couldn't play, or I was a bottom-tier safety, I thought they were wrong, too. This is the NFL and you get evaluated every time that you're out there. I don't read the negative stuff, but it gets back to you, it has to today with all the social media. I don't think about it too much. You need to carry a balance."
Malcolm Jenkins Foundation Holds "Get Ready Fest"
While some NFL players will wind down and take much-needed relaxation time, Malcolm Jenkins went back to Columbus, Ohio, where Jenkins played for Ohio State, and fed over 3,000 people, as a part of The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation's "Get Ready Fest."
The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation and Teleperformance partnering with Feed the Children to hold the event in Columbus, where 22-percent of households live below the poverty level and are at risk of going to bed hungry.
The event was one of many that Feed the Children planned across the country that are part of the organization's renewed vision to create a world where no child goes to bed hungry. That was the latest distribution in a series to help kids be kids this year, instead of worrying about where their next meal will come from.
"The event was very important and means a great deal to me," Jenkins said.
The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation is launching an exclusive apparel campaign kicking off with Malcolm's "NoPhlyZone." Purchases will support the Foundation's programs supporting youth and families in under-served communities. Visit www.themalcolmjenkinsfoundation.org.
VIEW: Photos below from The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation
Follow Malcolm Jenkins on Twitter @MalcolmJenkins and like him on Facebook.
