Jamar Johnson is a super smart safety from the University of Indiana. His football IQ is off the charts and he frequently uses it to read plays and bait quarterbacks. He’s got fluid movement skills and good ball skills and all of that results in him being a versatile safety who is scheme independent, and he ends up as my top rated safety. 

Strengths: 

  • Incredible Football IQ

The best part of Jamar Johnson’s game is just how smart he is. Not only is great at recognizing what the QB is going to do and what route is coming his way but he also knows how to manipulate QBs into making bad decisions and he frequently baits QBs into bad throws.

  • Great Range

Jamar Johnson is able to cover a lot of ground across the field mainly because of how smart he is reading where the QB will go with the ball but also because of his quick trigger and fluid motions.

  • Oily Hips Allow for Smooth Transitions

One of the key reasons why Jamar Johnson can cover so much ground despite his average long speed is because he has hips that are incredibly quick and he can change directions incredibly well.

  • Great Ball Skills

Johnson has great ball skills to not only track passes and bat them away but he also has good enough ball skills to come away with takeaways.

Weaknesses: 

  • Not a Great Tackler

One thing that Jamar Johnson will need to get cleaned up is that he often appears to be a bit shy of tackling and delivering big hits, and he has poor tackling form which leads to missed tackles which are especially painful for safeties.

  • Takes Bad Tackling Angles

Jamar Johnson is another guy who overrates how fast he really is and in return ends up taking really aggressive angles that leave him chasing from behind which is not good.

  • Average Top Speed

Jamar Johnson has great fluidity and quickness which gives him a lot of range but his straight line speed isn’t amazing and he won’t be seen chasing guys deep down the field with incredible speed.

Player Comp: Now Browns safety John Johnson is one of the most underrated safeties in the league and I think Jamar Johsnon is very similar to him. Both guys are incredibly smart and their intelligence allows them to read QBs quickly and anticipate routes and throws. Both guys don’t have amazing long speed but rather solid quickness and incredible change of direction giving them range. They both have great ball skills and both guys are also at times a bit hesitant to tackle and lay on big hits. I’d say John Johnson definitely has better tackling form at this point but Jamar Johnson can develop good tackling form and if he does I think he can be just as good if not better.

Final Thoughts: Jamar Johnson not only has the highest football IQ of all the safeties in this year’s draft but I could make the case that he’s got the best football IQ of any player at any position. He’s just so smart and that makes the rest of his game better because he can get to his spots that much quicker. The only issue is really the hesitancy to tackle but even for that he has the adequate frame to be a good tackler and that can be fixed. I have him as an early second round player which is higher than most others who have him in the latest part of round 2, and I have him as the top rated safety which is certainly higher than what others think of him. He fits pretty much all schemes because he’s that versatile to play anywhere, although I do prefer him at deep safety instead of a box safety because of the tackling. Jacksonville missed out on the top safeties this offseason and getting him at the top of the 2nd round would be a great pick.