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Before I get into my most recent man-crush, lets get something out of the way.
Janoris Jenkins is NOT a shutdown corner - at least not yet.
He is a player that will be a part of a lot of big plays, both positive and negative. He gambles in the wrong spots (see awful Brandon Lloyd bomb) and communication with other DBs has been suspect (see Emmanuel Sanders TD from last week). While he has tremendous ability, his mental gaffes will prevent him from reaching truly elite status.
Now that we have that out of the way, let's look at what his potential is. This kid has always had the potential to be an elite playmaking CB in the NFL. He just gets in his own way (true to the nature of this team). When his head is on straight, he is an electric player that has the ability to change the course of a game in an instant. He did that TWICE yesterday.
JJ was responsible for two Rams takeaways in San Diego. Both had a huge impact on the game. You could argue that the Pick-6 in and of itself was a 14-point swing. Toss in that the Chargers were driving and were already in FG range when JJ forced the Keenan Allen fumble, that is at least a 17 point swing, possibly even 21.
To give you an idea what that means, if the Chargers score TDs on both of those drives, those 2 plays changed the final score from 44-17 to 27-24. It was JJ at his best. If we had a QB, I have no doubt that we would have won - and it would have been because of JJ's impact plays.
JJ will have his mistakes, but he will also have a lot of games like he did yesterday. We are going to have to learn to take the good with the bad, but as he matures as a player we should see less of the bad and more of the good. While he might not be a shut down corner in the mold of 'Revis Island' or Richard Sherman, he certainly has a flair for the big play that Charles Woodson, Asante Samuel and DeAngelo Hall (in their primes) would be proud of.