Tennessee Vols: Why Jauan Jennings is going to shock the NFL
Tennessee Vols wide receiver Jauan Jennings had to wait a long time to hear his name called at the 2020 NFL Draft. Jennings was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round with the No. 217 overall pick. It's not a huge surprise that Jennings fell to the seventh round — he didn't […]
Tennessee Vols wide receiver Jauan Jennings had to wait a long time to hear his name called at the 2020 NFL Draft.
Jennings was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round with the No. 217 overall pick.
It's not a huge surprise that Jennings fell to the seventh round — he didn't have a great time in the 40 yard dash at the combine (4.72, which is considered slow for a wide receiver). Jennings also didn't get a chance to formally sit down with teams and explain why he was kicked off the team in late 2017, or the incident at Vanderbilt in the 2019 regular season finale that led to a one-half suspension in the Vols' bowl game against Indiana.
But despite those factors the led to him falling in the draft, I think Jennings is going to end up having a fantastic NFL career.
Seventh round picks don't usually make much of an impact for a team. Often, they spend the bulk of their time on the practice squad.
But every now and then there's a player selected in the seventh round who ends up becoming a key player.
Former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston, for example, was a seventh round pick in 2006. He went on to play 10 seasons in the NFL, amassing 9,759 receiving yards. Colston was never a Pro-Bowl wide receiver, but he had a steady, successful career.
I see Jennings having a similar career in the NFL. No, he's not as fast as Colston (who ran a 4.50), but he has the heart and desire to be successful no matter what.
This is a player who dislocated his wrist in the first game of the 2017 season and was kicked off the team that same season by a since-fired athletic director (John Currie) and an interim head coach (Brady Hoke). With a new coaching staff coming in, it would've been easy for Jennings to declare for the draft and see what happened (like is often the case with draft eligible players who have had "issues", Tyler Bray at Tennessee as an example).
Instead, Jennings lobbied new Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt and new athletic director Phillip Fulmer for his spot back on the team.
Jennings did everything asked of him by Pruitt and Fulmer.
Of all the players selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, there's no one who wants it more than Jennings. There's no one who is appreciating this opportunity more than Jennings.
Just look at how he responded with his mom after he heard his name called.
That reaction is exactly why Jennings is going to be successful in the NFL. Because he won't accept anything less than success. And when it gets tough in the NFL — because it inevitably will — Jennings will just fight harder.
The 49ers won't be regretting their decision to select Jennings. But the rest of the NFL will regret passing on him.
Featured image via Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
