NFC team projected to select former Florida State defensive end in First-Round

The NFL Draft is drawing closer each day and that means we're going to see nothing except mock drafts until things wrap up in April.

Former Florida State defensive end Jermaine Johnson is a prospect that has been rising up the rankings since the fall. Johnson had a dominant senior season with the Seminoles in 2021 and carried that success into the offseason. A few weeks ago, he was the talk of the Senior Bowl as he put on a show against opposing offensive tackles. Despite not playing in the Senior Bowl game, Johnson improved his stock in Mobile.

The Minnesota native has been a consistent face in mock drafts since January and that doesn't look to be slowing down anytime soon. On Tuesday, Buccaneers.com released its second mock of draft season. Interestingly enough, writer Scott Smith has Tampa Bay selecting Johnson with the No. 27 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The snippet on Johnson is below and you can view the full mock draft HERE.

"I already revealed that I would have taken Booth if he was here. Carlton Davis is a pending free agent and both Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting have just one year left on their rookie deals. At this point, though, I'd rather wait until the second round to address that position. The free agency outcomes for Leonard Fournette and Chris Godwin could make the Bucs consider the likes of Penn State WR Jahan Dotson or Iowa State RB Breece Hall, but for now I'm going to go in a direction similar to what Carmen did in her 1.0 version and take the best edge rusher on the board. In this case, that's Johnson, who was a standout at the recent Senior Bowl and who had 12 sacks in his final year as a Seminole."

In this mock draft, we get some edge-rushing help with the 27th pick.#GoBucs
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) February 22, 2022

The next opportunity for Johnson to showcase his talent will be at the NFL Combine in March. As of now, it's very realistic that he's one of the top-five edge defenders selected in the draft.

Johnson recorded 70 total tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, two forced fumbles, and a defensive touchdown during the 2021 season. Following the conclusion of the season, he was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

Stick with NoleGameday for more coverage on Florida State's NFL Draft prospects over the next few months.

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