Jenkins attended D. W. Daniel High School in Central, South Carolina. He was named as an All-American by PrepStar as a senior where he had 79 tackles and four blocked kicks. He was named the South Carolina Coaches Association Upperstate AAA Lineman-of-the-Year, Daily Journal/Messenger Player-of-the-Year and was an AP All-State. Jenkins was also a two-time All-region pick in basketball and was named All-region in the shot put and discus. Jenkins was rated as the 27th defensive tackle in the nation, and number one player in the state of South Carolina by Rivals.com. He was a member of the Rivals 250.
He was considered one of the better defensive tackle prospects for the 2011 NFL Draft.
Washington Redskins
Jenkins was selected ninth in the second round, 41st overall, by the Washington Redskins in the 2011 NFL Draft. The Redskins signed Jenkins to a four-year, $4.783 million contract with a $1.978 million signing bonus on July 29, 2011. Jenkins missed the entire 2011 season after tearing his ACL in a preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens, spending his entire rookie season on injured reserve. After seven months of rehabilitation, Jenkins was cleared to play on April 11, 2012. He made his NFL debut in the 2012 season opener against the New Orleans Saints. After Adam Carriker was placed on injured reserve, Jenkins had his first career start in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals. On July 28, 2013, it was announced that Jenkins would be suspended for the first four games of the 2013 season due to violating the league's substance policy. In Week 11, he recorded his first half a sack against the Philadelphia Eagles. The following week, he recorded a full sack on quarterback Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers.
On March 24, 2015, Jenkins signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Bears. In fifteen starts, Jenkins recorded a career-best 32 tackles, four sacks and six tackles-for-loss.
On November 14, 2016, Jenkins signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. On March 22, 2017, Jenkins re-signed with the Chiefs. On March 14, 2018, Jenkins re-signed with the Chiefs. He played in 12 games in 2018 before being waived by the Chiefs on December 7, 2018.
