In a very deep edge rusher class, Florida State’s 6’5″ 262 lb. Jermaine Johnson is a name that deserves more recognition. Johnson took a unique path to college football stardom, starting his career at Independence Community College, where he was featured on the Netflix documentary series Last Chance U. Johnson subsequently transferred to Georgia, where he was very productive in limited playing time but resorted to entering the transfer portal to earn a full-time starting job elsewhere. Ahead of the 2021 season, Johnson transferred to Florida State where he enjoyed a great breakout year, recording 12 sacks and being named ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Without further ado, let’s dive into Johnson’s tape!
Strengths: Johnson is an extremely gifted, well-rounded, and refined pass rusher. He exhibits fantastic burst and bend around the edge. His first step is quick and he shows the ability to get under his blocker’s outside shoulder and flatten to the quarterback. Johnson converts speed to power consistently, regularly using his length to get into the blocker’s chest and push him back into the quarterback by using his strength. He also has a really impressive and varied arsenal of effective pass-rush moves to beat his opponent. Johnson is one of the very rare defensive end prospects who can win with athleticism, power, and skillful handwork as a pass rusher. His lateral agility and instincts also allow him to bounce across the line of scrimmage to access the best gap available to attack the quarterback. Johnson excels against the run as well. He flashes the ability to stack and shed properly. He sets the edge really well. With his burst, effort, and length, he does really well to prevent the ball carrier from bouncing his run outside. Johnson has incredible range against the run, as he has long strides that cover ground really quickly and displays a motor that always runs hot. He is really comfortable and athletic in space. Johnson’s football intelligence and burst allow him to shoot gaps and blow up run plays in the backfield. He also shows good awareness to locate the running back in the hole.
Weaknesses: While Johnson possesses a fantastic variety of pass rush moves, there are still a few technical points he can work on. He often stands up too tall in his rush, causing him to lose leverage. While his initial move is really effective, Johnson can work on deploying good counter moves more consistently. Johnson can get stalled at the top of his rush by being pushed off the arc and could look to add a little more bulk to prevent this from happening. He loses his balance at times when his upper body gets ahead of his lower body. Johnson transferred from Georgia to Florida State because of a lack of playing time. While there are no indications of character concerns that could have caused his low snap count at Georgia, it is still odd that a player of his caliber could not get on the field more.
Bottom Line: Johnson is a fantastic defensive end prospect and top ten talent. He is such a dangerous, well-rounded pass rusher who can truly win with athleticism, power, and refined pass-rush moves. He excels against the run too, showing great effort and burst in pursuit. Johnson has a few technical points in his game that could use work, but he does not have any serious weaknesses. I expect Johnson to flourish in the NFL and reveal his Pro-Bowl potential.
Grade: 1.3 (top ten talent)
Sources
- https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-state-seminoles/os-sp-fsu-football-jermaine-johnson-ii-20211209-vrpnx6b6vfbarop5hyzxl5vmti-story.html
