Player: Antonio Johnson
School: Texas A&M
Measurables:
- Height: 6’2”(NFL Combine)
- Weight: 198(NFL Combine)
- 40: 4.52(NFL Combine)
- 10 Yard Split: 1.57(NFL Combine)
- Bench: 8(NFL Combine)
- Vertical Jump: 31”(NFL Combine)
- Broad Jump: 9’10”(NFL Combine)
- 3 Cone: DNP
- 20 Yard Shuttle: DNP
- Other Notes: Johnson’s athletic testing was pretty pitiful. He was a bottom of the group tester in everything except the 40, which was average. The unfortunate part is I don’t remember Johnson standing out in positional drills to balance out the bad. He did not help his stock in Indy.
Graded Position Specific Traits:
- Field Vision: 4.75/10
- Range: 5/10
- In-The-Box Zone Coverage: 5/10
- Deep Zone Coverage: 5.75/10
- Tackling: 4.75/10
- Man Coverage: 6.75/10
- Run Support: 4.5/10
Prospect Grade: 36.5/70; 52.1%- Solid backup and role player as a rookie. Needs some developing but could be starter by end of year two
Projected Draft Day: Mid/Late Round 2- Round 3
Player Comparison: Jalen Pitre
Player Summary:
Antonio Johnson is an interesting prospect to me. He’s 6’3” which is great size for safety, but at the same time when you look at him you can clearly tell he’s “slim” for a lack of better term. He’s got this big frame, but it has yet to be filled out yet. I’m not saying it’s a negative, but I do think a couple years in an NFL weight room could be extremely valuable for him to add some size and strength.
Johnson though may be the most versatile player in this draft class. He can play free safety, strong safety, nickelback, inside linebacker, and they lined him up on the edge in their goal line package as well. Is he going to do all of that in the NFL? Based on what I’ve watched of his film, I wouldn’t. His ability to take on blockers and his tackling aren’t great; however, I do feel like he flashes the ability to do both at a pretty high level.
Johnson is definitely a stronger coverage prospect than he is a “run support” prospect. He looks pretty good in man, and I would argue that’s what comes naturally to him. The only thing is he doesn’t really press at all, and it makes me wonder if it is his choice or part of the scheme. When it comes to zone, he’s average. He’s not bad by any means, but he doesn’t pop on tape either. I would like to see him read the field better in general, but especially when he’s playing deep.
Overall, I believe Johnson is a day two prospect. He’s one of those guys that will go into training camp and compete for a role or maybe even a starting spot based upon where he ends up. Although I believe that he has the ability to be a serviceable day one starter, I think a year or so to develop in all aspects under NFL coaches could be the best thing for him.
UPDATE 3/11:
Johnson didn’t help himself with a pretty poor performance at the Combine. His draft projection went from Round 2- Early Round 3 to Mid/Late Round 2- Round 3. His only saving grace is that he has the type of build that teams are willing to gamble on.