Predictable. That's how one reporter that used to cover Jeff Fisher described the St. Louis Rams' decision to pick North Alabama cornerback Janoris Jenkins in the 2012 NFL Draft. Paul Kuharsky, who covered the Titans for the Tennessean before ascending to ESPN's AFC South blogger, explained it to his division peer Mike Sando that in a Tuesday post on Sando's ESPN NFC West blog.
He also shared some insight into how Fisher and his staff plan to work with Jenkins and the other players on the roster.
Here's the predictable part:
The two most predictable picks in the draft after Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III were Jenkins and the Montana kid, Trumaine Johnson, who went to school with Fisher's son.
On numerous occasions in the days and weeks leading up to the draft we noted Fisher's past tendencies to take risks on talented players with off-field concerns. The two most commonly cited examples were Albert Haynesworth and Pacman Jones.
Comparisons are never perfect. Jenkins himself pointed out that he "never shot up a strip club" a la Pacman.
It's been noted before that Jenkins' combination of talent and character will get him plenty of one-on-one time with the coaches. Kuharsky reiterated that to Sando.
He'll be far more hands-on with Janoris Jenkins than with anyone else. He'll talk about treating him the same as everyone else, and he'll baby him.
It remains to be seen whether or not that strategy will work for Jenkins. Khuarsky knows Fisher and the precedent established for such a situation.
Expanding on the idea of Fisher as a teacher, calling him a good one. Position coaches are key under Fisher, as they do most of the direct work with players, instituting larger organizational paradigms for how the game should be played, accountability, etc.