Paris Johnson Jr.

Pos: OT

School: Ohio State

Ht. 6’6″ 

Wt. 313

Games Watched: Georgia, Michigan, Penn State

One Liner: Instinctive offensive tackle who wins with football IQ, athleticism, and a massive frame

Strengths: 

  • Very good athlete. Johnson is a fluid mover in space, and generates a quick get off of the line of scrimmage and into his zone blocks. He shows functional lateral agility and operates at a high level with short area quickness and burst to put himself into position in zone blocking concepts. In diagonal passing sets, he has quick shuffles for kick steps that cover ground effectively, putting him in optimal position to block.
  • Very good frame. At 6’6” with 36 inch arms, Johnson possesses a plus frame that will be extremely beneficial moving forward at the next level. His size will allow him to engulf smaller defenders and neutralize them while they run the arc, and will generate immediate shock off the line, getting his hands in defenders chest early. 
  • Very good football IQ. Johnson has great awareness and has a nuanced understanding of twists and stunts. Against Georgia, he did a spectacular job of identifying which lineman he passes off to the guard and who his responsibility is. Georgia threw many stunts and twists at Johnson, who picked them up perfectly throughout the game. 
  • Good balance. Johnson has good contact balance and won’t often be driven back or give up positioning when facing a bull rush or a power move from a pass rusher.

Weaknesses:

  • Adequate strength. Right now, Johnson doesn’t generate nearly enough pop when blocking in space or at the line of scrimmage. He doesn’t create desired pushback when throwing jabs and his blocks don’t pack a punch quite yet. He will have to improve his functional strength and also look to add some bulk to his arms and frame.
  • Marginal hand technique. Johnson frequently misplaces his punches and ends up hugging opposing pass rushers which will end up in frequent penalties at the next level. Johnson will have to fix this blemish at the next level.

Overall Assessment: Paris Johnson Jr. is an extremely high upside, athletic offensive tackle who possesses a great frame with great arm length. Johnson is a smart player who is among the best in this class at picking up and identifying stunts from opposing defenses, and combines his play recognition with great athleticism and functional movements in space to be a dominant left tackle in his time at Ohio State. Johnson already has a great foundation established, indicating a higher floor, and has the upside to be even better with tweaks in his upper body technique at the POA and some bulk to his frame. Johnson should be a Day 1 starter at left tackle for any team that drafts him.

Scheme Fit: Left Tackle that can work out of diagonal and vertical pass sets and scheme versatile in terms of run blocking

Pick Projection: Top 15

Grade: 6.57