Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins is having an excellent season, and it might be time we started talking about it.
To make sure we got the message, Jenkins sent out this tweet Tuesday, just a few hours after he shut down the NFL's leading receiver, A.J. Green, in a 21-20 win over the Bengals.
According to Pro Football Focus, Green caught just four balls for 23 yards (seven targets) when Jenkins was playing heads-up on him. Green finished the night with seven catches for 68 yards and a touchdown. The pair have known each other for almost a decade, and perhaps this was Jenkins' friendly way of reminding the football universe that he is just as talented.
While most of the credit for the Giants' turnaround has been handed to the well-deserved Landon Collins, Jenkins has emerged as a true shutdown corner alongside Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. After a slow start to the season, he has arguably risen to top-five consideration at the position this year.
Teammate Odell Beckham certainly agrees. In an interview last week with reporters, Beckham said Jenkins was playing at the "highest of highest" levels.
When a team finally evens out their problems and starts winning like the Giants (6-3), it's easy to find ways to recreate the narrative. But in the case of the Giants, they are going as their entire secondary goes -- and their secondary is playing worlds better than they were a month ago at this time. Jenkins, Collins and Rodgers-Cromartie are also allowing for Olivier Vernon, Jason Pierre-Paul and the rest of their expensive defensive line to start attaining some of the glamour stats that people commonly associate with dominance (sacks, for one).
