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‘Tis the season for lists.
Without the draft to talk about, free agency news slowing to a trickle, and teams still weeks from the opening of training camps, the media ecosystem surrounding the NFL has replaced mock drafts with lists and power rankings.
Right now the NFL Network is running its annual “Top 100 Players” list, revealing another 10 players each week. Predictably, few New York Giants have made this year’s Top 100 list. Among the players to not make the list is cornerback Janoris Jenkins.
In a companion series, NFL.com is making a variety of “Top 10” lists.
Just a year removed from an All-Pro caliber season, Janoris Jenkins (aka Jackrabbit) is curiously absent from former wide receiver James Jones’ list of the “Top 10 Cornerbacks for 2018.”
Some players constantly look for slights to use as motivation for an upcoming season or game, and it seems that Jackrabbit has seized upon his exclusion from this list.
Guess @NFL still sleeping on me with that weak ass top 10 but ain’t no pressure umma make you MFers even hate me More after this year.. #Facts
— JackRabbit2.0 (@JjenkzLockdown) May 22, 2018
The NFL is a league where “what have you done for me lately” is the overriding mentality, and Jenkins simply was not able to follow up his (nearly) shut-down 2016 with a similarly strong 2017 campaign. Granted, he was playing through injury in a broken defense and fractured locker room. However, nobody really cares about that — he simply wasn’t up to snuff in 2017.
Although, considering Richard Sherman is included in this list at number five, Jenkins does have some reason to be aggrieved. The list is for 2018, and Sherman is currently working his way back from an Achilles injury, which could put his ability to play cornerback at a high level in serious doubt.
Giants have appeared on a couple of the other lists, with left tackle Nate Solder and rookie running back Saquon Barkley being the third and fifth players (respectively) on the “Top 10 Additions” list. Meanwhile, Damon Harrison was the eighth ranked player on Shaun O’Hara’s list of “Top 10 Defensive Tackles”.
We’ll just have to wait and see if Jackrabbit will be able to return to form and make good on his promise to wake up those who he thinks are sleeping on him.