Fangio Says LB Alexander Johnson Has a 'Good Future' With Broncos

Alexander Johnson is three-quarters of the way through his first full season as a starting linebacker in the NFL. The former Tennessee Volunteers star debuted for the Denver Broncos last season, getting his first chance to start in Week 5 and he never looked back.

Johnson's 2019 campaign was impressive, leading to some very high hopes for third-year linebacker this season. Although he might be missing some of the game-changing type of plays that helped endear him to his coaches a year ago, Johnson has been a consistent force in the middle of the Broncos' defense.

Last year, Vic Fangio was quoted as saying that Johnson was guilty of some "reckless driving" at times and more than a year removed from that statement, the head coach was asked this week whether the linebacker has been able overcome that sort of slapdash, wild attack, at times, on the field.

“He's occasionally still guilty of some reckless driving, but not as much," Fangio said with a smile on his face on Wednesday. "I like ‘AJ.’ I've liked him since we started playing him day one."

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Johnson leads the Broncos with 98 combined tackles (59 solo). He'll break the 100-tackle mark for the first time in his career this weekend in Carolina.

For all the high marks Johnson gets for his run defense, he doesn't receive much credit in coverage. But Fangio would beg to differ with those who'd say Johnson lacks coverage chops.

"I think he's a really good inside linebacker both versus the run and the pass. I'm really glad we have him. I like him as a player. I like him as a person."

With Johnson poised to be a restricted free agent in the spring, his future is somewhat up in the air. Based on his play and what Fangio said about his future, it's hard to imagine the Broncos not RFA-tendering him. Mile High Huddle's Bob Morris expects Johnson to garner a second-round RFA tender from the Broncos.

"I think he's got a really good future moving forward here," Fangio said.

For his part, Johnson doesn't feel like he's taken a quantum leap forward in Year 2 in Fangio's scheme. The biggest thing missing from his 2020 resume? Game-changing takeaways.

“I can’t really say it improved or nothing. Like I said, I’m not happy with my performance," Johnson said back on November 11. "I feel like I’ve been playing pretty well, pretty solid, and one of the biggest things I wanted to do for this season is be able to generate turnovers and I have only got one turnover. That’s not acceptable to me from my standpoint, but other than that I feel like I’ve been really solid and doing my job."

Johnson's takeaway metrics are unchanged from the time he made that remark. On the season, he's got two forced fumbles and zero interceptions. He does have a sack, though, as well as four tackles for a loss.

Johnson is angling for a Pro Bowl nod but his missing takeaways, which end up on the highlight reels on Sunday nights and run throughout the week, will make it harder to garner notoriety in the wider NFL fanbase. All he can do is keep plugging away.

With the Broncos being ranked dead-last in turnover differential at -17, forcing takeaways is very much front-of-brain right now for Fangio and his defensive captains. Fellow linebacker Josey Jewell is focused on it and it goes without saying that Johnson is too.

Still, for it being his first two seasons as an NFL starting linebacker, Johnson, a former college free agent, has exceeded expectations and has likely carved out a place for himself in Denver beyond 2020. If he plays well again in 2021 and maybe even takes it to another level, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Broncos reward him with a multi-year extension.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.

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