He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, earning consensus All-American honors, and winning the Jim Thorpe Award as a senior.

[17] Head coach Sean Payton named Jenkins the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind Tracy Porter and Jabari Greer.

[19] Jenkins intercepted a pass attempt by quarterback Josh Freeman that was originally intended for wide receiver Antonio Bryant and returned it for a 14-yard gain in the second quarter.

[19] On December 27, 2009, Jenkins made a season-high ten combined tackles (eight solo) in the Saints' 20–17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 16.

[19] On February 7, 2010, Jenkins appeared in Super Bowl XLIV and recorded five solo tackles and a pass deflection in the Saints' 31–17 victory against the Indianapolis Colts.

[19] On May 8, 2010, head coach Sean Payton stated his intentions to move Jenkins to safety while addressing the media at the Saints' rookie minicamp press conference.

[29] On October 3, 2010, Jenkins recorded four solo tackles and made his first career sack on quarterback Jimmy Clausen during a 16–14 win against the Carolina Panthers in Week 4.

[31] On November 25, 2010, Jenkins recorded four combined tackles and made a key play in the fourth quarter to spark a comeback by the Saints in a 30–27 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 12.

[38] In Week 8, Jenkins recorded five solo tackles, a pass deflection, and sacked quarterback Sam Bradford in the Saints' 31–21 loss at the St. Louis Rams.

[39] The following week, he started in the NFC Divisional Round and made eight solo tackles, a pass deflection, and sacked quarterback Alex Smith in the Saints' 36–32 loss.

[40] Vitt named Aaron Kromer the interim head coach for the first six weeks after he received a suspension for the first six regular season games for his part in the Bounty scandal.

[25] The New Orleans Saints' new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan held a competition to name starting safeties between Jenkins, Roman Harper, and rookie 2013 first round pick Kenny Vaccaro throughout training camp.

[47] On October 13, 2013, Jenkins recorded eight combined tackles, a pass deflection, and earned a career-high 1½ sacks on Tom Brady during a 30–27 loss at the New England Patriots in Week 6.

[50] On January 11, 2014, Jenkins played in his last game as a member of the Saints and recorded five combined tackles during 23–15 loss at the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional Round.

Head coach Chip Kelly officially named him the starter to begin the regular season, along with strong safety Nate Allen.

[53] On September 28, 2014, Jenkins recorded seven combined tackles, a pass deflection, and returned an interception by quarterback Colin Kaepernick for a 53-yard touchdown during a 26–21 loss at the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4.

On December 6, 2015, Jenkins recorded seven combined tackles, deflected a pass, and returned an interception for a touchdown in the Eagles 35–28 victory at the New England Patriots in Week 13.

On October 16, 2016, Jenkins recorded six combined tackles, two pass deflections, and returned an interception for a touchdown in the Eagles' 27–20 loss at the Washington Redskins in Week 6.

[67] On February 4, 2018, Jenkins started in Super Bowl LII and recorded four solo tackles and a pass deflection as the Eagles defeated the New England Patriots 41–33.

[71] In week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jenkins recorded 5 tackles and forced his first fumble of the season on wide receiver Mike Evans which was recovered by teammate Jordan Hicks during the 27–21 loss.

[72] In week 8 against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, Jenkins recovered a fumble forced by teammate Avonte Maddox on wide receiver Keelan Cole during the 24–18 win.

[73] In week 12 against the New York Giants, Jenkins recorded his first interception of the season off a pass thrown by Eli Manning and returned it 25 yards during the 25–22 win.

[79] In week 6 against the Minnesota Vikings, Jenkins recorded a season high 8 tackles and forced a fumble on rookie running back Alexander Mattison which was recovered by teammate Kamu Grugier-Hill during the 38–20 loss.

[81] In week 16 against the Dallas Cowboys, Jenkins recorded 5 tackles and recovered a fumble forced by teammate Fletcher Cox on rookie running back Tony Pollard during the 17–9 win.

[82] In week 17 against the New York Giants, Jenkins forced a fumble on rookie quarterback Daniel Jones which was recovered by Fletcher Cox during the 34–17 win.

[84] In the wild-card round of the playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks, Jenkins recorded a team high 9 tackles and sacked Russell Wilson twice during the 17–9 loss.

[85] The Eagles declined to pick up Jenkins' contract option for the 2020 season, making him a free agent at the start of the new league year on March 18, 2020.

[87][88] In Week 2 against the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football, Jenkins recorded his first sack of the season on Derek Carr during the 34–24 loss.

[89] In Week 9 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football, Jenkins recorded his first interception of the season off a pass thrown by Tom Brady during the 38–3 win.

[96] Jenkins has met on Capitol Hill with legislators, written an opinion-editorial in The Washington Post and signed a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell explaining his perspective on the issues.