Inside the Iggles
FanSided

Philadelphia Eagles: Where does Malcolm Jenkins rank in terms of value?

By Justin Grasso

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 23: Defensive back Malcolm Jenkins #27 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates against the Indianapolis Colts during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on September 23, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Eagles won 20-16. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 23: Defensive back Malcolm Jenkins #27 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates against the Indianapolis Colts during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on September 23, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Eagles won 20-16. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
LANDOVER, MD – DECEMBER 30: Nigel Bradham #53 of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts against the Washington Redskins during the first half at FedExField on December 30, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD – DECEMBER 30: Nigel Bradham #53 of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts against the Washington Redskins during the first half at FedExField on December 30, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

5. Brandon Brooks, RG

Unfortunately, Brandon Brooks just suffered his first major injury with the Eagles by tearing his Achilles last year in the playoffs. The 29-year-old big man should be back early on in 2019, but there’s no telling if whether he will be fully back and ready to roll or not. Regardless of the future, Brooks’ past with the Eagles was a solid one. He’s been a quiet contributor next to Lane Johnson as they solidified themselves as one of the better guard-tackle duos in the game.

More Valuable than Jenkins?: Yes

6. Nigel Bradham, LB

In 2017, Nigel Bradham was on the second and final season of his contract with the Eagles. He was disappointing in 2016, but his contributions to the Super Bowl run were outstanding. Bradham was deserving of a new deal, which made him $40 million. In 2018, Bradham was solid, but he wasn’t all that consistent. When you think of the Eagles’ defense, you think about Cox and Jenkins. It’s rare when anybody thinks about Bradham being a face of the defensive side of the ball.

More Valuable than Jenkins?: No

7. Brandon Graham, DE

In terms of leadership and locker room personalities, Brandon Graham is one of the best on the team. After his contract was up this past season, we thought for sure he was going to be out of the picture. But the Eagles surprised a lot of us.

They gave Graham, who struggled in 2018, a brand new contract worth $40 million. He’s the same age as Jenkins and getting paid more salary on average. This should be the contract that tells the Eagles they can fork up money for Jenkins as well.

More Valuable than Jenkins?: No

8. Rodney McLeod, S

Before a restructure, which occurred a few months ago, McLeod had similar numbers in comparison to Jenkins. While McLeod hasn’t been lousy for the Eagles, it was clear he wasn’t living up to his contract’s expectations. So he restructured and got himself a one-year, prove it type deal. The Eagles could look to McLeod to run the back end of the secondary in the absence of Jenkins, but can he really fill the entire void?

More Valuable than Jenkins?: No

In Conclusion…

Malcolm Jenkins is more than deserving of a pay raise from the Eagles. By looking at the contract numbers, he ranks ninth overall. Seeing as though we could pick out four players he holds more value than, it seems as though the Eagles have to do some serious thinking about making the veteran safety happy. Also, keep in mind that Jenkins didn’t miss a single snap in 2018. And he also played additional snaps on special teams as well. If Jenkins isn’t back in 2019, the Eagles secondary will one-hundred percent be weakened. No questions about it.

Home/Eagles News