Tag: Desjuan Johnson

Chiefs had pre-draft meeting with Toledo DL Desjuan Johnson at Shrine Bowl

The #Chiefs had a pre-draft meeting with a highly productive MAC defensive lineman both at and after the East-West Shrine Bowl.

Draft season is kicking into high gear ahead of the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis this week. We’re beginning to hear more and more about the players that the team has met with during the pre-draft All-Star Game circuit.

According to The Draft Network’s Justin Melo, the Kansas City Chiefs were among the teams to meet with Toledo DL Desjuan Johnson at the East-West Shrine Bowl. Melo says that Johnson met with nearly a dozen NFL teams including the Bills, Eagles, Steelers, Falcons, Packers, Bengals, Rams, Commanders, 49ers, and Patriots. Johnson also told Melo that he’s met with the Chiefs since then, likely via a virtual pre-draft meeting.

In his five seasons at Toledo, Johnson dominated the competition in the MAC conference. This past season, that dominance culminated in a First-Team All-MAC selection. Tasked with facing competition from all over the FBS at the East-West Shrine Bowl, Johnson didn’t miss a beat.

The 6-foot-3 and 280-pound defensive lineman was highly-productive for the Rockets in 2022, recording 65 total tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, 36 stops, 5.5 sacks, 42 pressures and one interception on the season. He excels at rushing through the B-Gap, but he has the versatility to play up and down the defensive line. In the Chiefs’ scheme, Johnson would likely play defensive end on first and second down and reduce to the play 3-technique on third down and key passing situations. His tape features a lot of plays where he wins with quickness, but there are also some really great effort plays too.

Johnson won’t be at next week’s combine in Indy, but Toledo’s Pro Day is currently scheduled for Monday, March 20th. Expect that Kansas City will be among the teams in attendance.

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49ers 2023 prospect watch: Toledo DL Desjuan Johnson may offer quick fix

Add a versatile defensive lineman to our #49ers 2023 prospect watch list.

Versatility is an easy way to find playing time on the 49ers’ defensive line, which is why Toldeo defensive lineman Desjuan Johnson lands in our 2023 prospect watch list. He met with the 49ers at the Shrine Bowl per Draft Network’s Justin Melo, and it’s easy to see why San Francisco would have interest in him.

Johnson is listed at 6-3, 270 pounds, which could make him a candidate to fill the DE/DT role occupied by players like Arden Key and Charles Omenihu the last couple of years with the 49ers.

At Toledo he lined up all over the defensive line and put together productive years in each of his last four seasons with the Rockets. In those four years he had 42.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks.

It’s important to note that while Johnson played multiple spots at Toledo, it’s not likely he’d step into an NFL role as a pure pass rusher off the edge. He can do that in spots where the 49ers want to get creative on the defensive line, but it’s easier to see him spending more of his time on the interior. That kind of role would probably require Johnson to put on some weight, but that shouldn’t harm his functional athleticism too much.

Productive college players with a little bit of versatility should be popular with a 49ers club that doesn’t pick until late on Day 2 of this year’s draft, and a player like Johnson could be a quick fix if the likes of Kerry Hyder and Omenihu don’t re-sign.

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Bengals met with Toledo DL Desjuan Johnson ahead of 2023 NFL draft

Another notable meeting for the Bengals before the draft.

The Cincinnati Bengals have been busy prepping for the 2023 NFL draft and meeting with prospects at various events.

One of those prospects is Toledo defensive lineman Desjuan Johnson.

According to The Draft Network’s Justin Melo, the Bengals were one of the many teams to meet with Johnson during the Shrine Bowl.

That certainly fits with this coaching staff’s affinity for local prospects from good programs who boast plenty of experience. As a senior last year, Johnson tallied 16.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks over 14 games, earning First-Team All-MAC status.

The Bengals will be on the hunt for rotational pass-rushing help this offseason and Johnson is an obvious name to watch find the middle rounds or later.

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Bahamas Bowl Prospect Preview: MTSU Blue Raiders vs. Toledo Rockets

The Bahamas Bowl is Friday at noon. @joshkeatley16 gives us his prospect preview for the game: #BlueRaiders vs. #LiftOff

We have now entered bowl season and the first bowl on the slate pits the Mid-American Conference against the C-USA. The Toledo Rockets currently sit at 7-5 and the MTSU Blue Raiders are 6-6. Toledo had high expectations going into the season, but the madness and constant parity of the MAC brought them to the middle of the conference pack.

Meanwhile, MTSU had similar struggles to Toledo early in the season  despite winning their first game against FCS opponent, Monmouth, the Blue Raiders lost their next three in a row and squeezed into bowl eligibility with a close win over the Florida Atlantic Owls.

With all that said, we aren’t here to dive into these teams’ schedules or how they wound up in the Bahamas Bowl, we are here to prepare for the NFL Draft and the following are the top three prospects from each squad:

Notre Dame vs. Toledo: Fourth-Quarter Analysis

Whew.

Notre Dame will need to clean some things up before the competition really gets fierce. That it struggled so much for a second consecutive week undoubtedly will cause a lot of discussion about how good this team really is. For now, it can settle for a 32-29 win over a Toledo team that came into Notre Dame Stadium with something to prove and did just that even as it just came up short.

On a drive the Irish (2-0) left over from the third quarter, Tyler Buchner got the Irish into field-goal range on a 15-yard run. That set up a 30-yard field goal from Jonathan Doerer to put the Irish back in front. South Bend breathed a little easier.

The Rockets moved backwards on their first possession of the quarter by virtue of both the Irish’s defense and a couple of false starts. That enabled the Irish’s offense to set up shop at their own 45-yard line. Buchner only needed one play to hit Chris Tyree, who began the play in motion before the snap, for a 55-yard touchdown. South Bend breathed even easier than before.

It also took only one play for the Rockets to gain momentum back. Pinned back at his own 11, Bryant Koback took a handoff and found enough holes to gain 67 yards. That ultimately set up a third-and-goal from the Irish’s 8 on which he took a shovel pass to score a touchdown and bring the Rockets within two. A pass on a two-point conversion failed, so the Irish held onto a 24-22 lead.

With time winding down, the Irish focused on the ground game to eat the clock. It worked for a while, getting all the way to the Rockets’ 33. That’s when disaster struck as Desjuan Johnson forced a Kyren Williams fumble, which Zachary Ford recovered at the Rockets’ 27 with less than three-and-a-half minutes to play. Holy cow.

Needing only a field goal to take a late lead, the Rockets’ offense moved enough to set that up. However, it wasn’t needed. On a third-and-1 from the 26, Dequan Finn ran to the left and found enough open field to run into the end zone for a backbreaking touchdown to put his team up, 29-24. With 1:35 left, the Irish needed to make something happen fast.

The drive started well when Jack Coan hit Kevin Austin for a 34-yard reception to put the Irish into Rockets territory. Aided by a couple of penalties, the offense quickly found itself in the red zone and made the most of it. After having his finger popped back in on the sidelines, Coan found Michael Mayer right in front of the end zone, and he marched the short distance with his 18-yard touchdown reception. Needing a two-point conversion to protect the lead in the event of a Rockets field goal, quarterback-turned-receiver Avery Davis had enough time to find an open Williams, who caught the ball to put the Irish up three.

The Rockets had 1:09 to respond with 87 yards of field to work with and suddenly became undisciplined as they took one penalty after another. At one point, they took a timeout to avoid a 10-second runoff. Toledo’s frustrating drive ended abruptly when Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa forced a Carter Bradley fumble that was recovered by JD Bertrand. All of South Bend can exhale.

Will you be able to breathe after that, or is this frustrating? Whatever the case, a win is a win is a win.