Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The Huddle’s David Dorey releases his first NFL mock draft of 2023.
David Dorey’s first mock draft of 2023 is now out. Sound off on social media and let us know what you think.
We’ll be unveiling several more mock drafts leading up to the real thing, so be sure to check back with our 2023 NFL Draft Central page to keep track of all of our offerings.
*Note: Miami forfeited its No. 21 overall selection for tampering.
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Jets Wire thought up some comps for each member of Gang Green’s 2022 draft class:
NFL players like to see themselves as unique, but scouts and pundits often try to compare prospects to established talent.
So who do the Jets’ seven 2022 draft picks compare to? Jets Wire was wondering the same thing and came up with player comps for each member of New York’s class. These are best-case scenarios of course, and not guaranteed to come to fruition.
Let’s get started with Ahmad Gardner and a comparison Robert Saleh would love to see come true.
The Jets have garnered plenty of praise for their 2022 draft class. Here’s one thing to love about each of New York’s seven picks:
The Jets added seven new players during the 2022 NFL draft. Each one carries a unique skill set that will hopefully get New York back on track after a 4-13 season.
Joe Douglas used this year’s draft to land Gang Green a potential lockdown cornerback, a new top target for Zach Wilson, an intriguing pass rusher and the second part of what could be a dynamic backfield duo. Douglas still has work to do to get the Jets ready to go for training camp, but there is plenty for New York to be excited about when it comes to its incoming group of rookies.
Let’s take a look at one big thing to love about each of the Jets’ seven draft picks.
The Jets wanted Jermaine Johnson II badly enough to swing a trade for the promising pass rusher. Here’s what you need to know about him:
The Jets got their man in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft, swinging a trade with the Titans for the 26th pick. That landed the Jets Florida State defensive end Jermaine Johnson II.
Johnson II was a favorite of New York’s throughout the pre-draft process. Joe Douglas decided to go in a different direction with his pair of top 10 picks, but the GM was diligent in his effort to land Johnson II. It paid off with seven picks left to go on the first night of the draft.
Here are seven things to know about Gang Green’s newest promising pass rusher.
Breaking down what Florida State’s Jermaine Johnson II brings to the New York Jets as the No. 26 overall pick in he 2022 NFL draft
The New York Jets were expected to target Florida State edge defender Jermaine Johnson with one of their top-10 picks in the 2022 NFL draft, but it turns out they didn’t have to. They saw him falling in the late first round, and decided to jump back up the board for their third pick of the night, grabbing arguably the biggest steal of Day 1.
Johnson is a long and strong defender who uses his arm length to dominate offensive tackles, and border edges patiently before leaping on ball carriers, or shooting into the pocket to nab the quarterback. His ability to slam into his blocker, extend and dip was his best trait last season, and it led to his career-high sack numbers, which shot him up the draft boards.
Johnson should start immediately on the Jets’ defensive line opposite Carl Lawson, and try to revive a defense that has struggled mightily in recent years. They have one of the most talented fronts in the AFC after this pick, and will hope to turn that into production right away.
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Breaking down the most surprising storylines from the first round of the 2022 NFL draft
The first round of the 2022 NFL draft has come and gone, and it was predictably as unpredictable as expected.
An early run on defensive prospects and a handful of aggressive trades shook up Round 1, making for an entertaining evening of picks.
Here are some of the biggest surprises from Thursday night’s wild round of action:
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.
#11 Jermaine Johnson with the strip sack + scoop & score combo pic.twitter.com/QxKHmhQryX
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) April 12, 2022
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.
A last-minute mock draft update ahead of Round 1.
This last-minute mock update on the eve of the 2022 NFL Draft’s first round remains without any projected trades, but there was plenty of player movement in the midsection of the round. The opening stanza figures to be one of the least predictable first rounds in recent memory and should be as entertaining as ever!
Be sure to check our NFL Draft Central page containing all of our mock drafts, player scouting reports, live fantasy football blogging, post-draft analysis, and player rankings for every key pick relevant to fantasy football.
The Ravens added talented players in the latest two-round mock draft by CBS Sports
The Baltimore Ravens are gearing up for the 2022 NFL draft, and currently hold 10 draft picks. There are many different directions that the team could decide to in each time they’re on the clock, especially with the No. 14th overall selection, which is higher than Baltimore is generally accustomed to selecting in the first round.
In his latest two-round 2022 NFL mock draft, Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports has the Ravens taking a talented player on both sides of the ball with Baltimore’s first two selections. First off at No. 14, Wilson has the Ravens selecting former Florida State edge rusher Jermaine Johnson II, talking about how Johnson would become a running mate for outside linebacker Odafe Oweh.
“After transferring from Georgia, Johnson has a fantastic season at Florida State. And he told us at the combine that he felt like he had something to prove going from the SEC to the ACC. He did that and then some, then he dominated the Senior Bowl, and followed that up with an electric workout in Indy. The Ravens drafted Odafe Oweh a year ago and he’ll get a running mate with Johnson here.”
Next, Wilson has Baltimore taking former Central Michigan offensive tackle Luke Goedeke. The 6-foot-5, 310 pound offensive lineman projects as more of a utility player at the NFL level, but is a strong player that has a good anchor.
Addressing edge rusher and the offensive line in the first two rounds of the draft would be a good investment. Outside of those two positions, cornerback could be another big need that the Ravens could look to add early on, but Johnson and Goedeke would be a solid start to Baltimore’s 2022 rookie class.
Johnson II is going to make one pass-rush starved team very happy.
The best way to beat an elite quarterback is to have an elite pass rush. Barring your tremendous luck in capturing your own star passer, you’ll have to lean on the young men you pay to hunt quarterbacks to win games.
When it comes to compelling pass-rush potential, there are few bigger EDGE names in the 2022 Draft class than Jermaine Johnson II. Once a mere rotational player with Georgia, Johnson II thrived with Florida State in a full-time role during the 2021 season. Scouts raved about the terrific athlete’s massive step-up as soon as he got more snaps.
Now imagine Johnson II in an NFL strength and conditioning program, with a pro operation pulling out all the stops to develop his raw tools. I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it.
To me, there’s virtually no scenario where Johnson II supplants his EDGE-mates Aidan Hutchinson, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Travon Walker. Though, that doesn’t mean he leaves the top 10 — this is a special class of top-end pass rushers.
Oddsmakers with Tipico Sportsbook think it’s unlikely Johnson II makes it past the Seahawks at No. 9 overall. Seattle is smack dab in the middle of a rebuild after trading Russell Wilson. I would bet on the Seahawks jump-starting a new era on the Puget Sound with Johnson II.
Pete Carroll and Co. will wait to take a quarterback, perhaps even next year. And as they should.
Johnson II almost makes too much sense.
The Pick: Jermaine Johnson II draft position UNDER 9.5 (-115).
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