NFL Draft Profile: Jermaine Johnson II, Defensive End, Florida State Seminoles
#11
Pos: DE
Ht: 6045
Wt: 254
Hand: 0978
Arm: 3400
Wing: 8158
40: 4.58
Bench: N/A
3-Cone: N/A
Shuttle: N/A
Vert: 32
Broad: 1005
DOB: 1/7/99
Eligible: 2022
Eden Prairie, MN
Eden Prairie High School
Jermaine Johnson II
Florida State Seminoles
One-Liners
Muscular and long edge defender who excels versus the run due to play strength, competitiveness and athleticism but needs to improve his hand usage, get off and bend.
Pros:
Jermaine Johnson is an athletic playmaker on the defensive line with a muscular build and long arms giving him a physical advantage. Johnson excels versus the run, playing from 4, 3 and 2 point stances from both the strong and weak side. He has tremendous play strength due to his build and technique - regularly playing with low pad level and gaining inside hand placement to create a pop at the point of attack and then stack his block. Johnson’s raw physicality and power overwhelms tight ends and some tackles and he is a terror to block throughout the full play. Johnson is very disciplined in his gap and also versus read options. He’s a quick processor of the play in front of him, tracks the ball carrier through traffic well and has great short area burst to chase down the ball. Johnson’s motor is a strength as well, regularly pursuing the ball to the sideline or down the field, showing immense competitiveness. Johnson has been extremely productive as a pass rusher in his senior season and his raw power and competitive mentality is the main reason why. Johnson shows flashes of attacking “half the man” to win on an outside track with his powerful hands and his go to move is a chop. Johnson has a penchant for making an impact on 3rd down, improving his normally average get-off and rising to the moment.
Cons:
A fair portion of Johnson’s production has come when left unblocked, cleaning up his teammates pressure or on a coverage sack - these are lower quality sacks which are not as predictive of future NFL success. Compounding this is his raw hand usage - Johnson struggles to time his pass rush moves and does not have a wide repertoire at his disposal. Additionally, Johnson has average at best get-off, especially when playing from a 4 or 3 point stance. He is regularly a split second late off the snap and this puts him at a disadvantage. Furthermore, Johnson struggles to cleanly win versus the pass as his cornering is sub par - he has stiff hips which he struggles to flip towards the quarterback and also loses his balance too often when trying to bend. Johnson really struggles to ward off the tackle’s outside hand and is too often pushed past the pocket, far from making an impact on the play.
Summary:
Johnson is a muscular edge defender with long arms who excels versus the run from 4, 3 and 2 point stances on the strong or weak side of the defense. He is immensely physical and competitive, creating pop at the point of attack and chasing down plays with tremendous effort. He shows flashes as a pass rusher but must improve his snap timing, cornering and hand usage. Early in his career, Johnson can be a functional starting edge on run downs and can grow into an above average starter if he refines his pass rushing skills.
Background:
Johnson attended Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota and despite the school’s lack of pedigree, Johnson was a clear stud. At just 15 years old, he benched 300 pounds and ran a 4.5 40-yard dash. Additionally, as a senior, he totalled 37 tackles and 7 sacks. After high school, 247Sports ranked him as a 2-Star recruit, the 105th-ranked weakside defensive end recruit in the country and the 11th recruit in the state of Minnesota. Johnson was not deemed academically eligible for NCAA football due to his 1.9 GPA and unfortunately did not recieve any offers as a result.
Determined to prove himself, Johnson took to Junior College (JUCO) At Independence Community College in Kansas, Johnson improved his GPA to 3.0 and during his 20-game career, totalled 96 tackles, 12.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 4 forced fumbles, and 3 pass breakups. Johnson more than proved himself, ending up as the #1 JUCO recruit in the nation and earning over 20 offers, eventually committing to Georgia.
In his first season with Georgia in 2019, Johnson played a rotational role in 14 games and totalled 20 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 3.0 tackles for loss. In 2020, Johnson played in seven games, starting three and tallying 4 sacks (third on team), 11 pressures and five tackles for loss. Johnson's journey to the NFL has one more stop as he seeked a larger role on the defense, something he didn't anticipate to have on a loaded Georgia defense with numerous 5-star recruits at his position, “You can’t get to the league without film and the constant rotation for no reason. That’s not going to do it.
Thus, in 2021, Johnson transferred to Florida State where he has been a breakout player in the nation. Through nine weeks he’s tallied 49 tackles, 8 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, and 2 pass breakups. There are not many players who have improved their stock more than Johnson and he will have another chance as he has been added to the Senior Bowl watch list.
Grades
Current Player Value/Potential Player Value
7.8 / 8.4
Quotables
“He's a hard worker, a good teammate, a determined and focused guy with big goals and dreams. He's a guy who shows up to try to get those big goals and dreams accomplished every day. He is constantly looking for ways he can be better, and he's an energy guy. He provides leadership and tries to coach the younger guys." -- Florida State defensive end coach John Papuchis on Jermaine Johnson
2/15/22 - “I wanted a team to get the full Jermaine Johnson and I felt like I couldn’t really give that to Georgia because I wasn’t on the field as much as I wanted to be. It was one of the hardest decisions to leave, I love those guys. I had no idea where I was going, everyone was calling me left and right, it was similar to recruiting. The more I talked to Coach (Norvell) the more it made sense just looking at all the greats that had come out of there.” -- Jermaine Johnson on his departure from Georgia
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