New York Jets select Florida State EDGE Jermaine Johnson II with the 26th pick. Grade: A+

The New York Jets select Florida State EDGE Jermaine Johnson II with the 26th pick. Grade: A+

With the X pick in the 2022 NFL draft, the New York Jets select Florida State EDGE Jermaine Johnson II.

GRADE: A+.

Since Johnson was my top edge-rusher in this class, and the Jets managed to get him by trading up to 26 with the Titans… well, this is ridiculous. The Jets got out of the first round with three picks: Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson, and Johnson. You could argue that they came away with the best prospects at three positions of massive need, and you can’t do any better than that.

Height: 6’4 5/8″ (69th) Weight: 254 (20th)
40-Yard Dash: 4.58 seconds (93rd)
10-Yard Split: 1.55 seconds (97th)
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: 32 inches (36th)
Broad Jump: 125 inches (92nd)
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A

Wingspan: 81 5/8 inches (69th)
Arm Length: 34 inches (66th)
Hand Size: 9 7/8 inches (48th)

Bio: A high-school defensive lineman and receiver in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Johnson received major college offers as a three-star recruit, but academics got in the way, and he spent two years at Independence Community College in Kansas, and was featured on the Netflix series, “Last Chance U.” Then, he committed to Georgia over Texas, USC, and Oregon. Johnson struggled to find the reps he needed in the Bulldogs’ stacked defenses (403 total snaps in the 2019 and 2020 seasons), so he used the transfer portal to finish his collegiate career at Florida State. It was a wise decision, as his snap count shot up to 736, and he amassed 46 total pressures on 416 pass-rushing snaps.

Stat to Know: In 2021, Johnson tied with Penn State’s Arnold Ebiketie and San Diego State’s Cameron Thomas for the NCAA’s highest tackle for loss rate per game among edge defenders at 1.5.

Strengths: In today’s front-versatile NFL, you want an edge defender who has some game inside the tackles, and Johnson qualifies. Here, Johnson faces off with Boston College left guard Zion Johnson, the No. 1 interior offensive lineman on our list, and takes him to the ground on a snatch-and-go. Johnson doesn’t get to the quarterback, but here’s where you can see how he uses his hands as an inside rusher.

Speaking of top blockers, watch how Johnson moves to Ickey Ekwonu’s inside shoulder, and then rips him to the outside to stop the run. Hitting a Top-10 draft prospect with the okey-doke like this makes me think that Johnson will bedevil NFL tackles with the same ridiculously quick inside-to-outside moves.

This rep on the outside shows how Johnson has many different plans to get to the quarterback. He looks to have a hitch like Charles Barkley’s golf swing, but it’s as if he’s waiting for the right tackle to declare, and he just blasts off from there.

Enough of the secrecy in this case — here, Johnson goes with the straight bull-rush for the sack.

And this do-it-all play is pretty ridiculous.

Weaknesses: Johnson isn’t always centered as a tackler when he needs to be — as on this play against Florida, where he’s so into his moves to get to the backfield, he kinda forgets to take it home. There are too many tackling whiffs on his tape.

This is fairly common among collegiate edge defenders, but you’d like to see fewer stints where Johnson isn’t using his hands as aggressively as he can. When he’s coasting as opposed to setting the tone with his hands and technique, he becomes ordinary.

Conclusion: There are some analysts who will tell you that Johnson is scratching the surface of his potential, and he might be the best edge player in this class over the next few seasons. Based on the tape and attributes, I’d say he’s there already. There was enough on the Georgia tape to give an indication that Johnson would turn into a dominant player once he got more opportunities, and that’s exactly what happened in 2021. Johnson already has a high floor, and the ceiling is vaulted.

NFL Comparison: Aldon Smith. Selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2011 draft out of Missouri by the 49ers, Smith was an immediate force with 14 sacks in a rookie season in which he didn’t start a single game. A first-team All-Pro in 2012 with 19.5 sacks in 2012, Smith looked like one of the NFL’s most promising players until off-field things got in the way. This is not to say that Johnson has off-field issue — it’s to say that he brings the same combination of power, speed, technique, and potential I saw in Smith at his very best.