Jaguars 2023 roster review: RB D’Ernest Johnson

D’Ernest Johnson didn’t see many touches in Cleveland, but could play a bigger role with the Jaguars.

The brunt of the offseason is in the books and training camp is still off on the horizon. Join us in the NFL’s dead zone with a player-by-player review of the Jaguars roster ahead of the 2023 season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t enter the 2023 offseason with a massive need at running back. While the team traded away James Robinson, it has a budding star in Travis Etienne Jr. and the rest of the depth chart had promise with JaMycal Hasty and Snoop Conner.

Still, the team made two big additions at the position, drafting Tank Bigsby in the third round and adding former Cleveland Browns back D’Ernest Johnson in free agency.

Johnson saw limited time in the Cleveland offense with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt getting the bulk of the workload. But he made the most of his opportunities, averaging more than five yards per carry over his four seasons with the Browns.

With the Jaguars, Johnson has a chance to see more touches and opportunities, so long as he can prove he’s more deserving of those chances than Bigsby, Hasty, and Conner.

Contract (2023): $1.08 million base salary, $50,000 signing bonus, $102,500 roster bonus, $1,092,500 million cap hit.

Acquired: Jaguars signed Johnson to a one-year deal on March 23, 2023.

PFF grades

  • 66.1 (2022 – CLE)
  • 81.4 (2021 – CLE)
  • 65.1 (2020 – CLE)
  • 56.6 (2019 – CLE)

Statistics:

  • 17 rushing yards, three receptions, seven receiving yards (2022)
  • 534 rushing yards, three touchdowns, 19 receptions, 137 receiving yards (2021)
  • 166 rushing yards, three receptions, 14 receiving yards (2020)
  • 21 rushing yards, six receptions, 71 receiving yards (2019)

Highlight:

Quote: “They’ve got something special going on here, and I want to be a part of it. They’ve got a great offense, great quarterback, great wide receivers and a great running back in Travis Etienne. It’s a great team.” – Johnson

Calvin Ridley (No. 0) Travis Etienne Jr. (No. 1) Rayshawn Jenkins (No. 2) C.J. Beathard (No. 3) Tank Bigsby (No. 4) Andre Cisco (No. 5)
Chris Claybrooks (No. 6) Zay Jones (No. 7) Logan Cooke (No. 9) Parker Washington (No. 11) James McCourt (No. 12) Christian Kirk (No. 13)
Kendric Pryor (No. 14) Tim Jones (No. 15) Trevor Lawrence (No. 16) Evan Engram (No. 17) Nathan Rourke (No. 18) Sammis Reyes (No. 19)
Daniel Thomas (No. 20) Latavious Brini (No. 21) JaMycal Hasty (No. 22) Foyesade Oluokun (No. 23) Snoop Conner (No. 24) D’Ernest Johnson (No. 25)
Antonio Johnson (No. 26) Divaad Wilson (No. 27) Tevaughn Campbell (No. 29) Montaric Brown (No. 30) Darious Williams (No. 31) Tyson Campbell (No. 32)
Devin Lloyd (No. 33) Gregory Junior (No. 34) Ayo Oyelola (No. 35) Christian Braswell (No. 36) Tre Herndon (No. 37) Qadree Ollison (No. 38)
Jamal Agnew (No. 39) Erick Hallett (No. 40) Josh Allen (No. 41) Andrew Wingard (No. 42) Kaleb Hayes (No. 43) Derek Parish (No. 43)
Travon Walker (No. 44) K’Lavon Chaisson (No. 45) Ross Matiscik (No. 46) De’Shaan Dixon (No. 47) Chad Muma (No. 48) Leonard Taylor (No. 49)
Shaquille Quarterman (No. 50) Ventrell Miller (No. 51) DaVon Hamilton (No. 52) Willie Taylor III (No. 53) DJ Coleman (No. 54) Dequan Jackson (No. 55)
Yasir Abdullah (No. 56) Caleb Johnson (No. 57) Raymond Vohasek (No. 59) Darryl Williams (No. 60) Samuel Jackson (No. 62) Coy Cronk (No. 64)
Chandler Brewer (No. 67) Brandon Scherff (No. 68) Tyler Shatley (No. 69) Cole Van Lanen (No. 70) Walker Little (No. 72) Blake Hance (No. 73)
Cam Robinson (No. 74) Cooper Hodges (No. 75) Anton Harrison (No. 76) Josh Wells (No. 77) Ben Bartch (No. 78) Luke Fortner (No. 79)
Kevin Austin Jr. (No. 80) Seth Williams (No. 81) Elijah Cooks (No. 84) Brenton Strange (No. 85) Gerrit Prince (No. 86) Jaray Jenkins (No. 87)
Oliver Martin (No. 88) Luke Farrell (No. 89) Henry Mondeaux (No. 90) Jordan Smith (No. 92) Tyler Lacy (No. 93) Folorunso Fatukasi (No. 94)
Roy Robertson-Harris (No. 95) Adam Gotsis (No. 96) Nick Thurman (No. 97) Michael Dogbe (No. 98) Jeremiah Ledbetter (No. 99) Brandon McManus
Jacob Harris

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