Duke charting project: Why are teams sleeping on Leonard Johnson?

Leonard Johnson had an outstanding game against Virginia Tech getting an interception, a pass breakup and a second interception that was wiped out by penalty.

The performance underscored one of the biggest questions about Duke’s defense so far this season:

Why does everyone keep throwing to him?

According to our Duke Maven charting data for the season, teams have targeted Johnson more than any other Blue Devil defender—more than any two other defenders, in fact.

Player	Times targeted<br>
Leonard Johnson	28
Michael Carter II	15
Josh Blackwell	11
Brandon Hill	8
Koby Quansah	7
Marquis Waters	5
Dylan Singleton	5
Lummie Young IV	2
Jalen Alexander	2
Shaka Heyward	1
Chris Rumph II	1

Almost one out of every three passes thrown by opponents to a receiver who was covered (i.e. the data doesn’t include screen passes, passes to seams in the defense, etc.) has been thrown at Johnson.

You’d think with opposing quarterbacks seeking him out so regularly, Johnson must be the weak link in the secondary, but he’s not. In fact, other than the corner on the opposite side, Josh Blackwell (seen below during a bye-week interview), no one has a lower completion percentage against.

Player	Completions	attempts	Pct.
Leonard Johnson	12	28	.429
Michael Carter II	12	15	.800
Josh Blackwell	2	11	.182
Brandon Hill	5	8	.625
Koby Quansah	4	7	.571
Everyone else	10	16	.625

Not only are quarterbacks challenging Johnson, they’re challenging him deep. Here’s the average yards downfield where each defender is targeted (in other words, how far the ball flies in the air). Johnson is second to Blackwell.

Player	Yards downfield<br>
Josh Blackwell	19.2
Leonard Johnson	15.4
Michael Carter II	6.7
Koby Quansah	5.0
Brandon Hill	3.6
Everyone else	7.0

You’d also think that someone targeted regularly probably struggles with tackling or leaves large cushions, but as the average yards after catch show, Johnson is the surest tackler and tightest coverage man on the team.

Player	YAC
Leonard Johnson	1.7
Michael Carter II	3.0
Brandon Hill	4.4
Koby Quansah	4.8
Dylan Singleton	5.5
Marquis Waters	16.4

Clearly, Johnson appears to be one of the strong links in Duke's defense, which makes it all the more puzzling that he's the defender opposing offenses are seeking out.