Ht – 6’4” Wt – 254 lb Class – SR Age – 23
Career Statistics
2021 Stats – 70 tackles, 17.5 TFL, 11.5 Sacks, 2 FF, 2 PD (12 Games Played)
Career Stats – 106 tackles, 24.5 TFL, 18 Sacks, 3 FF, 4 PD (28 Games Played)
Attribute Breakdown
Versatility – He is pretty confined to his edge rusher role. He has the requisite size to cut inside on plays, or even start a play lined up on the interior, but I don’t think he will excel there long-term.
Hand Counters – Very active hands, but on tape, they weren’t very successful. He was constantly deploying hand counters, rip moves, push-and-pull moves, but they only got home on a large handful.
Bend – Not elite, but great bend. He has very good length and agility for his position. Combine that with his ability to duck under blockers and redirect quickly, that’s a deadly combo.
Power – Doesn’t possess a ton of raw power, but he showed the ability to bull-rush on multiple occasions.
Pass-Rush Moves – Despite the gaudy stats, Jermaine Johnson II didn’t win as many pass reps as you’d like. He was completely blocked on many plays. He showed a wide variety of moves (despite most of them being unsuccessful), and he used them to dominate at the Senior Bowl, so I’m not too worried about his lack of wins, but it’s worth noting.
Quickness – Lacks burst off the line-of-scrimmage, and while he has very quick feet and great long speed, I expected more from such a twitched-up player. With all the tools he showcased, I think he has the ability to reach elite burst, but it will take work.
Play Recognition – Great processor. Jermaine is always by the play, and he consistently read fakes, pitches, and RPOs t perfection, resulting in many TFLs.
Tackling and Pursuit – Outstanding pursuit and motor. He is a very high-energy player who never stops running. There were many instances of him chasing down ball-carriers all the way across the field.
Combine – JJII ran a 4.58 40 and jumped a 10’5″ Broad, which are phenomenal numbers for a pass rusher. This is just the next step in his meteoric offseason draft riser.
Overall
After the Senior Bowl, Jermaine Johnson II was the talk of the town. He was tabbed as the biggest “Senior Bowl winner” and is now nearly a lock for first round consideration.
Despite the massive production in his final year, I have a few concerns.
For starters, the necessity to transfer from Georgia isn’t a good sign. Although the Bulldogs are loaded with defensive line talent, and his production would be very tempered, I would hope that a guy like him would earn enough reps even at Georgia.
Additionally, his pre-Senior-Bowl hype wasn’t near what it is now, and although the hype is deserved, the tape can’t be forgotten. He was blocked up a lot, and more often than not he lost a pass-rushing rep, rather than winning it. His physical tools such as length, explosiveness, and speed are very exciting, and even on tape, he showed all the requisite tools. There are no massive holes in his game, but he doesn’t seem special at anything either.
At the Senior Bowl, he really turned up the heat, taking his hand fighting skills to the next level. That usually translates very well to the NFL.
Furthermore, his Combine performance was explosive, vaulting him into Top-10 considerations for most scouts.
In summary, I think he is deserving of mid-first consideration, and the potential is there, but there are more proven and reliable commodities in this draft.
See Jermaine Johnson II’s overall ranking among other players on my Big Board.
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