Name: Jermaine Johnson

School: Florida State/Georgia

Year: Sr

Position: Edge

Measurables: 6’4 5/8" 254 lbs.

Stats: 

General Info:

Johnson attended Eden Prairie High School in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. He was a three-star prospect coming out of high school. He ended up at Independence Community College in Kansas. He collected 19 tackles for a loss, four forced fumbles, and 12.5 sacks in just 20 games at Independence. The team was featured on season three of the Netflix documentary series “Last Chance U”. Rated the #1 JUCO defensive end. Johnson transferred to Georgia for the 2019 season. He played in every game with one start. He collected 20 total tackles, three tackles for a loss, 18 pressures, 2.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. For 2020 he played in seven of the team's 10 games, starting three games. In that season he had 16 total tackles, five tackles for a loss, 11 pressures, and four sacks. The former Bulldog then transferred to Florida State for the 2021 season. Once there he started every game where he earned ACC defensive player of the year and first-team All-American. On the season he recorded 70 tackles, 18 tackles for a loss, 46 pressures, 12 sacks, and two forced fumbles.

Positional Skills:

Strengths

Johnson has good size and length with elite athleticism. He has a variety of pass rush moves; a swim move, rip, arm over, chop, spin move, and a shuck. He has strong hands to shock back blockers. Johnson is already a very good run defender. He constantly gets in the backfield for tackles for a loss or causes the back to have to cut back. The former Bulldog has experience both in a three-point stance and a two-point stance, has played on both sides, and even seen some snaps inside. Johnson does a good job of pressing the edge with his speed. He plays hard from snap to whistle and will chase backs down from behind. The former community college standout also shows great awareness of where the ball is, he rarely loses track of it. Johnson has a strong upper body despite weighing 255 pounds. He pushes the pocket with his strong lower body and keeps his legs churning. There are a few instances of him dropping in coverage at Georgia and he looked ok doing it. Johnson has also shown a bull rush on film. The former Seminole has shown flashes of stringing moves together. He has also shown flashes of a push-pull move. Finally, he is a very good tackler.

Weaknesses

He does come high out of his stance negating his explosiveness. He is a bit older of a prospect, at 24 years old. His pass rush moves could be quicker. He could also be better at stringing moves together; he has shown flashes of it. His spin move could be good but needs work. Johnson wasn’t asked to drop in coverage at FSU. Also, he could use some work on his counters. Johnson needs to play a more disciplined he can rush up the field too far and too fast and end up leaving a big gap for the quarterback to escape or step up into to buy more time.

Fit with the Packers:

Johnson would be a great fit with the Packers. He has all the requisite skills that they look for in an edge defender. He has good size, long arms, explosive athlete, and can effectively play both the run and the pass. He has the athleticism to do some short zone drops and has shown flashes of it on film as well. He will be a little on the older side for a rookie than they typically like (24), but he showed he still has some untapped potential at FSU. He would be a good #3 edge rusher who could give both Gary and Smith a breather on any down since he’s shown that he is a threat against the run and the pass. Johnson has also shown he could be used inside on passing downs because of his strength and his ability to use a bull rush. He could spend his rookie year refining his pass rush moves and year two could take over as the starter next to Gary.