Regarding fifth-round picks, there is usually a toss-up if that pick will actually make the team. However, I consider former Aggie safety Antonio Johnson more of a lock than a casualty of cut day. Reports coming out of camp support my prediction as well.
Like most late-round picks, special teams’ play is usually the key to making the 53-man roster. The Jaguars are one of the best units in the league when it does come to special teams, and the coordinator, Heath Farwell had this to say about the rookie’s progress:
“We got a ton of guys that come up, but a guy that shows up a ton is Antonio Johnson,” Farwell said, later adding that Johnson is a player that has caught his eye. “He’s a guy that’s been spectacular. You see him out there playing defense, but he’s been great for us as a gunner, vise stuff has been really good. Kickoff he’s been doing well.”
S Antonio Johnson covering a punt – 2023 fifth round pick out of Texas A&M.
Impressive size and length, listed 6-2, 198, special teams coordinator Heath Farwell pointed him out in a press conference last week #Jaguars #duuuval pic.twitter.com/u5p4OwgOSy
— J.P. Shadrick (@jpshadrick) August 5, 2023
Johnson also understands that experience is the best teacher, so he makes sure to each out to his veteran teammates.
“I feel like, as a rookie safety, being in the room with those guys, it’s an honor. It’s a blessing at the same time because those guys got years in the league and [have had] great seasons, all of them, and on different levels and different aspects of the game as well. Just being able to go to them and pick their brain, get the knowledge they have.”
Aggies know what Johnson can bring to a team; we’ve seen him perform at a high level for three years, so to hear that he is making decent progress is expected. The Jaguars will be taking on the Dallas Cowboys in a preseason game this weekend, so it won’t be long before we get our first look at Johnson in NFL action.
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.
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