By Charlie Campbell
Weaknesses:
Summary: In 2020, Johnson was part of a loaded group of edge rushers at Georgia. Azeez Ojulari was the featured defender, while Johnson, Adam Anderson and Nolan Smith rotated for snaps. Anderson and Johnson both flashed, with Johnson recording four sacks and 14 tackles in backup duty. Giventhat Anderson, Smith, and Travon Walker were returning to the Bulldogs, Johnson transferred to Florida State. Johnson broke out with the Seminoles, showing up all over the field. He totaled 70 tackles, 11.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two passes batted in 2021. After the season, Johnson put together an excellent week of practice at the Senior Bowl.
Johnson is a pure football player with excellent instincts. He uses his anticipation, recognition, and vision to work off of blocks and is always around the ball. With his size, speed, and tenacity, Johnson has the potential to be an overachiever in the NFL.
Johnson is a dangerous pass rusher. He has nice club move, using his strength to knock tackles off balance. Once he has them on their heels, he uses his burst to fire by blockers, displaying real quickness to close on the quarterback. With active hands and quality technique, Johnson shows a nice ability to use his hands and feet at the same time. While Johnson is not blindingly fast off the edge, he has enough quickness to give tackles problems with speed.
As a run defender, Johnson is a real presence, using his length to stand up blockers and then his strength to shed them. He uses his speed to quickly flow to the ball and get in on tackles. In college, Johnson showed more desire and “want to” than many other college edge defenders, who seemed more consumed with rushing the quarterback. Johnson is a physical defender who battles blockers and puts ball-carriers into the turf hard.
Johnson presents a danger to offenses by fighting off blocks to fire into the backfield to get a tackle for a loss. As stated above, Johnson has a non-stop motor and gives relentless effort. He doesn’t quit on plays and won’t quit until the whistle has blown. With his competitiveness and fight, Johnson is a tone setter and leader for his defense.
The knock on Johnson is a slight lack of speed, twitch, and sizzle as a pass rusher. NFL team sources say Johnson could go somewhere between the back half of the first round to early in the second round during the 2022 NFL Draft.
Player Comparison: Cam Jordan. In terms of playing style, Johnson reminds me of Jordan. Both are dangerous pass rushers who are physical in run defendse. Jordan was a late first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, and Johnson could be a late first-rounder in the 2022 NFL Draft.
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2022 NFL Mock Draft: Charlie’s | Walt’s
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