It would seem that the Lions could fill a huge void at one of their weakest areas on defense if they were to draft North Alabama cornerback Janoris Jenkins with the 23rd selection in this years NFL Draft.
However according to ProFootballTalk.com (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press), there’s a slim chance the Lions take Jenkins at 23 given his past trouble with marijuana and the team’s recent trouble with marijuana.
During this offseason the Lions have had three separate players arrested for marijuana possession including two within the past couple of months. Johnny Culbreath was arrested in late 2011 for possession of the drug while RB Mikel Leshoure was busted twice already this year with DT Nick Fairley taken in on possession charges in Mobile, Alabama.
Each of these players were drafted by the Lions in 2011.
Jenkins was arrested twice on marijuana-related charges in three months while playing for the University of Florida. These charges eventually led to his dismissal from the program.
So could the Lions play the smokescreen game and say they aren’t going to draft Jenkins based on his past troubles only to draft him anyways? Sure, we’ve seen it before. However it would seem very plausible that they do skip out on the talented corner based on the negative light the team has been in recently.
Perhaps even bigger questions though are will Jenkins be in the second round and will the Lions move up to take him there?
Ref: ProFootballTalk.com, Detroit Free Press
