The Athletic Lists Jaguars’ Selection of Antonio Johnson Among Favorite Picks

The fifth-round safety has been lauded as one of the draft's top value picks.

Few Jacksonville Jaguars draft picks have been given as many post-draft accolades as the Antonio Johnson selection has in recent weeks, and the positive hype hasn't slowed down. 

Widely seen as a top-75 prospect entering the 2023 NFL Draft, the Jaguars seemingly landed a steal by selecting the Texas A&M safety with the No. 160 pick in the fifth round. 

A wide range of post-draft pieces have tabbed the Johnson pick as one of the draft's top value picks, with The Athletic most recently pointing to the pick as one of their favorite selections in the draft. 

"The Jaguars needed depth and a future contingency for Rayshawn Jenkins as he approaches his age-30 season. Johnson is a good fit,"

The Athletic wrote.



"His game is a throwback to the strong-safety archetype of old: a true thumper in run support and a good tackler. Defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell can use more dependable players around the second level, and Johnson fits well in a defense that can blitz from all angles and likes to play zone. There won’t be instant gratification, but I trust that Jacksonville will be happy to have Johnson grow into a future role."

Johnson appears to be slotted into the safety role moving forward after spending a large chunk of his collegiate snaps in the slot. The Jaguars have four experienced safeties in starters Rayshawn Jenkins and Andre Cisco and backups Andrew Wingard and Daniel Thomas, but Johnson could be a key piece of their future. 

"He's in the slot a lot, but he's a safety in how they play the defense. He wasn't man covering a lot of people in the slot. He dropped down, more of a box-type guy," Baalke said.

"But, again, there's a high character, tough guy, great tackler. And a really good teams guy. He's been a core four guy his whole career there. Looking forward to him as well, getting in here and competing with that group."

One of the top defensive back recruits in the 2020 class, Antonio Johnson earned a lot of accolades on his way to committing to Texas A&M. An East St. Louis native, Johnson was ranked by 247Sports as the No. 4 safety prospect in the country, while also ranking as the No. 78th prospect nationally and the top prospect in Illinois.

Johnson received 25 offers out of high school, with programs such as Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Virginia Tech, and Wisconsin before ultimately committing to Texas A&M.

Johnson played in seven games and started one as a true freshman in 2020, recording 14 tackles and one pass breakup. He entered 2021 as a starter, starting all 12 games and winning the team's Defensive Playmaker Award, recording 79 tackles, five pass breakups, one interception, one sack, one forced fumble, and 8.5 tackles for loss.

Johnson finished his college career as a second-year starter, recording 71 tackles, one pass deflection one interception, one sack, and five tackles for loss.