Bears draft targets: What to know about Oklahoma State’s Teven Jenkins

Oklahoma State’s Teven Jenkins is, as Shaw Local analyst Hub Arkush put it, the “big stud, mauling right tackle of your dreams.” Arkush has Jenkins rated as the fifth-best tackle in the 2021 draft class.

[ Hub Arkush’s 2021 NFL draft positional preview: Offensive tackle ]

Prep: The 6-foot-6, 317-pound tackle was a three-sport athlete at Topeka High School in Kansas, playing football, basketball and baseball. As an offensive tackle, he earned All-State honors as a junior and a senior.

He chose Oklahoma State in part because he clicked immediately with strength coach Rob Glass. Jenkins told KSNT News in Topeka that he knew he would be spending more time with the strength coach than even his offensive line coach. Rated as a three-star prospect and the No. 85 tackle in the class of 2016, Jenkins also had offers from Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska and Louisville.

Personal: Jenkins lost his mother to breast cancer when he was 6 years old. He has a breast cancer ribbon tattoo’d to his right arm with his mother’s birthday and the day she passed written across the pink ribbon.

College: At Oklahoma State, Jenkins started 35 games over the course of four years. He played primarily right tackle with some experience at left tackle and guard as well (26 starts at right tackle, seven at left tackle and two at right guard). He opted out of his senior season in November after seven games while dealing with a hip injury at the time.

He played with current Bears offensive lineman Arlington Hambright while both were at Oklahoma State for two seasons in 2017 and 2018. Hambright was a seventh-round draft pick for the Bears last year.

[ NFL mock draft: Sean Hammond’s version 3.0 ]

Outlook: Jenkins has a huge frame and has the size to be a tackle in the NFL. He benched 36 reps at his Pro Day and some evaluators believe he could add even more strength. His arms (33.5 inches) and his hands (9.5 inches) are a little bit small for an NFL tackle but not overly small. His film against Texas edge rusher Joseph Ossai, a potential first-round pick, is impressive.

Jenkins could likely slide into a starting right tackle position fairly easily, although his experience at left tackle is much more limited. Whoever drafts him might try him at left tackle eventually, but the vast majority of his experience is on the right side.

Jenkins is a likely first-round pick who could slide into the second round, but won’t last long if he does.

“He’s a fun one to study,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. “Just a real tough, physical, kind of a violent player.”