NFL Draft Profile: Paris Johnson Jr.
Taking a closer look at Ohio State left tackle Paris Johnson Jr.
This week I’ve been profiling the top offensive tackle prospects in this year’s NFL draft class. I’ve already broken down Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski and Georgia’s Broderick Jones, so today I’m going to finish off the consensus top three tackle prospects. Ohio State’s Paris Johnson Jr is widely considered one of the top three offensive line prospects in this class alongside Skoronski and Jones. In my opinion, Johnson has the potential to be the best of the group if he reaches his ceiling.
At the combine, Johnson measured in at a massive 6-foot-6, 313 pounds with over 36-inch arms. While he didn’t do any of the athletic tests at the combine, his athleticism is a clear strength that stands out on film. Much like Broderick Jones, Johnson is an excellent athlete and has quick and agile feet that enable him to match speed rushers off the edge and climb to make blocks in space that many other offensive lineman can’t. He also stands out as a strong run blocker, specifically in the zone scheme.
Here against Georgia, Johnson is on the front side of the zone play to the left. He’s tasked with reaching the edge defender and getting him moving towards the sideline. Many tackles will hold position and wait for the edge rusher to come to them in this situation, content with just containing them and letting the running back cut his run back inside behind him, but Johnson has the athletic ability to go reach his defender and get him moving. Johnson initiates contact and latches on with his hands. He uses his size and frame to get the defender moving laterally, washing him down the line towards the sideline. This allows the back to press his run to the edge and stay patient. As the back looks to cut back inside, the defender attempts to stop his momentum and get back inside of Johnson, but Johnson overpowers him and finishes the block emphatically, driving the defender to the ground.
Johnson consistently shows the ability to reach blocks, generate movement and even climb to the second level when running the zone scheme.
Like before, Ohio State call a zone run play to the left with Johnson leading the way. The assignment this time is different to the last play, with Johnson needing to first bump the defensive lineman inside of him to help the left guard secure his block before then climbing up to the second level to pick up the linebacker. As the ball is snapped, Johnson lands a punch on the defensive tackle to stop him from penetrating and buying the guard time to reach him before then moving onto his main assignment.
He climbs up to the second level nicely and engages with the linebacker, who attempts to go under him in order to get outside. Johnson does a terrific job using the defenders momentum against him, taking him to the ground and then falling on top of him. The combination of the two blocks effectively seals off the defense inside and creates a huge opportunity on the edge, but unfortunately the tight end couldn’t make his block.
Johnson is not necessarily someone that will overpower defenders in gap schemes, though he is capable of cutting off defenders, but from day one Johnson is capable of having a significant impact as a zone blocker for whatever team drafts him. He can generate plenty of movement on the front side of zone runs and reach across gaps to cut off defenders on the back side of zone runs and that will be a valuable asset.
In pass protection, Johnson still needs some work. He only played left tackle for a season at Ohio State, which means he’s quite raw and inconsistent with his technique. The raw tools are there, with his size, length and foot speed, but quite often his technique lets him down.
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