Why Rayshawn Jenkins was a player the Seahawks wanted

Sep 23, 2024, 11:56 AM | Updated: 3:11 pm

Seattle Sports

The Seattle Seahawks’ secondary has gotten quite a bit of attention with the likes of Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen and Julian Love leading the charge.

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Meanwhile, offseason addition Rayshawn Jenkins has quietly been an unsung hero of the group for three weeks.

Jenkins, who signed a two-year deal with the team in March, is the only Seahawks defender to play every snap this season. He posted 10 tackles in each of Seattle’s past two games, and his 26 total tackles lead the team.

Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald shared why Jenkins was a player the team targeted this offseason Monday during the Mike Macdonald Show on Seattle Sports.

“I really liked him coming out of Miami (where Jenkins played in college),” Macdonald said of the 2017 fourth-round pick by the Chargers. “So, I had an initial good impression, but then you work with folks that have coached him and they loved him, and then some of the players that have been with him and they love him. So anytime you kind of get the constant ‘everybody loves this guy,’ that’s a pretty strong statement. And then the tape kind of spoke for itself.”

According to Pro Football Focus, Jenkins has been the 13th-best safety in league with an overall defensive grade at 81.0. He has been even better in coverage, ranking seventh with a grade of 82.1. He and Love make up the top safety tandem in league by PFF grading.

Jenkins has also been a versatile player for the team lining up all over the field on defense. He has played 100 snaps at a traditional safety position, 64 in the box, 29 in the slot, three on the defensive line and two at corner, according to PFF.

Audio: Seahawks’ Rayshawn Jenkins talks playing in Macdonald’s defense

“This guy plays incredibly fast, plays physical and obviously he’s doing a lot of things for us right now,” Macdonald said. “It’s not easy to be moving. We’ve talked about this in the past, like, ‘Oh, it’s great to be versatile and play different spots.’ Well, it comes at a cost. So you need some massive investment (from the player) to pull it off, and he’s doing that.”

Tune in to the Mike Macdonald show every morning at 9:30 a.m. following a Seahawks game. Listen to the full conversation after the Seahawks’ Week 3 win over the Miami Dolphins at this link or in the audio player in this story.