New York Jets’ Potential Gamble On Jermaine Johnson II Can Pay Off

Travon Walker may not be the only surprise pass rusher to go in the top five of the 2022 NFL Draft, with hype building around his former Georgia teammate Jermaine Johnson II ahead of Thursday’s first round.

According to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, several people in the NFL believe Johnson, who transferred from Georgia to play his final college season at Florida State has a better chance to be selected fourth overall by the New York Jets than Oregon’s Kavyon Thibodeaux, who himself was once seen as a potential number one overall pick.

Walker is now the favorite for that distinction, with many believing the Jacksonville Jaguars will make the bet on his undeniable athletic traits.

However, going off college production, it is the Jets who appear more likely to be vindicated should they indeed spring a surprise and make Johnson a top-five selection. Johnson racked up 11.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles in 2021 while Walker had just 9.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss in three seasons.

But Johnson’s pressure numbers from his breakout 2021 do not compare favorably with Thibodeaux or many of his contemporaries in this draft class.

Indeed, according to Pro Football Focus’ Austin Gayle, Johnson’s pass rush win rate with stunts and blitzes removed was just 13 percent. That was still better than Walker — the favorite to be the number one overall pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars — but comfortably trailed Thibodeaux (24%).

Yet an analysis of Johnson’s tape from last year reveals an edge rusher who is encouragingly refined at this early stage of his career and still has plenty of room to grow.

Posting a Relative Athletic Score of 9.22 out of 10 from his pre-draft workout, Johnson is a phenomenal athlete with an explosive first step and has the lower-body flexibility to turn the corner and flatten to the quarterback.

Johnson needs to display this explosiveness more often when he uses his bull rush, which can be very effective when he gets low and plays with the leverage that allows him to drive pass protectors back to the quarterback.

Helping his cause as a bull rusher are Johnson’s hands. He uses them in a fast and violent manner to disengage from blocks when defending both the pass and the run, leaning heavily on a two-hand swipe move as well as his quickness and a fearsome spin move to help him win to the inside and outside shoulder of tackles.

With an extremely high motor and speed that allows him to close to the football in a hurry, Johnson has the range of tools to make an immediate impact as a pass rusher and a run defender and is a player with plenty of room to improve markedly as he adds more pass rush moves to his repertoire.

Thibodeaux does a superior job of converting speed to power and has shown an ability to bend around the edge with more consistency, but he and Johnson share plenty of similarities as prospects.

There would appear to be more risk in betting on Johnson after one season of production in which his sack total did not reflect his pressure numbers. However, between Johnson’s impressive skill set and head coach Robert Saleh’s history of developing defensive players, it is a gamble that has a strong chance of paying off.