When it comes to the 49ers, you get the feeling you're never going to get a conventional draft pick in the first round, particularly on the offensive side of the football. The 49ers like to find players that are good at fitting the schemes they run, which are run-heavy and demand a lot of blocking. The Niners are a team that favors the run first to set up the pass, and Jenkins seems to work well within that framework.
That's why Greg Cosell of NFL.com really likes the pick of Illinois wide receiver A.J. Jenkins to match up with the type of offense San Francisco runs.
Remember what team drafted him: the 49ers. This is a team whose offensive foundation features run personnel and run formations. That almost always results in defenses responding with fronts and coverages that require a safety to be involved in run support. Corners, in run-based defensive concepts, rarely play press on the outside. That gives Jenkins the free access mentioned above — a circumstance that will maximize his vertical strengths. One more thing you saw watching Jenkins on film: he played both outside and in the slot, so he has experience in multiple alignments.
Jenkins sure seems ready to be a 49er for awhile. He's already getting ready to move to the Bay Area, as Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area reports.
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