The Cincinnati Bengals front office has commendably turned over a new leaf this offseason. They're all of a sudden aggressive about trading for star players, unafraid to pay premiums to multiple free agents, and seem willing to acknowledge their misfires from the past.
Well, at least to a certain extent on that last account. Bengals personnel chief Duke Tobin and the coaching staff tend to err on the side of sunk-cost fallacies, which is why 2024 second-round pick Kris Jenkins Jr. is still on the roster.
Frankly, Jenkins has little to no chance of carving out a significant role this coming season in Cincinnati. Given his alleged Round 2-worthy talent and pedigree (his father was a great NFL player), it makes sense that Jenkins is being speculated about as a trade possibility.
Kris Jenkins Jr. should be flipped to help Bengals fill another need (now or later)
Moe Moton created an ambitious list for Bleacher Report of one player from all 32 teams who should be traded prior to the season kicking off. Here's what Moton had to say as to why Jenkins was repping the Bengals:
"With an established veteran trio on the interior of the Bengals' defensive line, the coaching staff may find it difficult to get younger players like Kris Jenkins Jr. on the field. Jenkins had some bright spots in two seasons, logging 67 tackles (five for loss) and 4.5 sacks in 29 contests, but he may be fourth on the depth chart with the team's new additions. At only 24, Jenkins could draw trade interest from teams looking for high-upside players to fill needs before final roster cuts."
I'd even argue Jenkins wouldn't be fourth on the depth chart. It's a little more complicated to figure out defensive tackles in the sense that, you have your mammoth-sized nose tackle types, and then you have your lighter, more dynamic 3-techniques who can ideally rush the passer.
Good news for the Bengals: their new d-line anchor, Dexter Lawrence, is a nose tackle who also happens to excel at pressuring the opposing quarterback. Lawrence should be a force multiplier for everyone who takes the field with him.
Jenkins isn't quite big or functionally strong enough to be a true nose tackle. He's not quite athletic enough to be a true difference-maker as a 3-technique. In fact, I'd wager that rookie seventh-round pick, Landon Robinson, has a far better chance of thriving as a designated interior pass rusher than Jenkins does.
So between Lawrence, T.J. Slaton and McKinnley Jackson factoring into the nose tackle rotation, and B.J. Hill and Jonathan Allen entrenched as the 3-technique duo, Jenkins will be scrapping with Robinson for, well, scraps of snaps.
Indeed, what sense does it make for the Bengals to hold onto Jenkins? If he'd shown something of any substance, he'd have played far more and far more effectively over the last two seasons, not rendered irrelevant as part of a terrible defense.
I'm not saying the talent isn't there for Jenkins to be a productive NFL player. To me, however, he's a primary backup 3-tech who can play nose in a pinch, or in smaller subpackages — assuming he keeps developing as a pass rusher.
A needy team at the position could be willing to roll the dice on Jenkins with a Day 3 draft pick. The obvious destination feels like the Los Angeles Chargers, where Jenkins could reunite with his college head coach, Jim Harbaugh, who'd know how to best use him. Jenkins has a better chance to contribute there on a thin Bolts d-tackle rotation.
Speaking of ex-Michigan players, shoot, since the Chargers drafted linebacker Junior Colson, maybe he could be kicked into the trade package.
...Or if Harbaugh is so confident in Colson's future, maybe the Bengals flip Jenkins and, say, a third-round pick for Daiyan Henley!?
Just kidding. Tobin won't make an addition at linebacker, even if Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. are already looking like a sunk-cost fallacy package deal from the 2025 draft.
In all seriousness, a Jenkins trade is more about decongesting a crowded position for the Bengals than it is a searing indictment of how he's produced to date. But make no mistake, it's close between those two.
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