John Johnson (safety)

John Johnson III
No. 43 – Los Angeles Rams
Position: Strong safety
Personal information
Born: (1995-12-19) December 19, 1995
West Hyattsville, Maryland
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight: 209 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school: Northwestern
(Hyattsville, Maryland)
College: Boston College
NFL Draft: 2017 / Round: 3 / Pick: 91
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 4, 2018
Total tackles: 106
Sacks: 0.0
Forced fumbles: 1
Pass deflections: 16
Interceptions: 2
Player stats at NFL.com

John Johnson III (born December 19, 1995) is an American football strong safety for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boston College.[1]

Early years

He attended Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Maryland and played wide receiver and safety for head coach Brian Pierre. Johnson finished his senior year with 50 combined tackles, 13 pass deflections, six tackles for a loss, and five interceptions.

He was rated as a two-star recruit by 247sports and Rivals.com. Johnson received ten offers in total from Boston College, Lehigh, Bucknell, Buffalo, Duke, UMass, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Towson, and Ohio. On June 1, 2012, Johnson took his only college visit to Boston College and then attended a camp held by them in late June where he was said to be very impressive and one of the top performers.[2] Boston college's special teams coordinator and defensive line coach Al Washington recruited him to join their football team. On July 23, 2012, he officially committed to play for Boston College and cited academics as the main reason on why he chose to attend Boston.[3]

College career

In 2013, Johnson began attending Boston College. He made his collegiate debut in the Eagles' season-opening 24-14 victory over the FCS' #5 Villanova Wildcats. On November 16, 2013, he recorded three solo tackles and made one tackle for a loss in a 38-21 victory over NC State. On December 31, 2013, Johnson made his first career fumble recovery during a 19-42 loss to Arizona in the 2013 AdvoCare V100 Bowl. He played cornerback and on special teams as a freshman and finished his season with four combined tackle, a tackle for a loss, and a fumble recovery in 12 games.

Professional career

On January 28, 2017, Johnson accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl and played for the North who lost 15–16 to the South. He had an impressive week at practice leading up to the Senior Bowl and had a meeting with the Indianapolis Colts. Johnson attended the NFL combine and completed all of the required combine and positional drills. On March 14, 2017, he participated at Boston College's pro day and chose to attempt the broad jump and run positional drills. Among 20 NFL teams had team representatives and scouts attend, that included defensive backs coaches from the New York Jets and Detroit Lions, to scout Johnson, Matt Millano, Patrick Towles, and three other teammates.[4] He was ranked as the seventh best free safety prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com.[5]

External video
John Johnson's NFL Combine Workout
Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert jump Broad BP
6 ft 0 in
(1.83 m)		 208 lb
(94 kg)		 32 in
(0.81 m)		 9 7⁄8 in
(0.25 m)		 4.61 s 1.58 s 2.66 s 4.18 s 6.72 s 37 in
(0.94 m)		 9 ft 9 in
(2.97 m)		 14 reps
All values from NFL Combine[6]

Johnson III was selected in the third round (91st overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams.

External video
Rams draft John Johnson 91st overall
NFL Draft Profile: John Johnson III

On June 9, 2017, the Los Angeles Rams signed Johnson to a four-year, $3.25 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $757,752.[7][8][9]

Throughout training camp, he competed with Maurice Alexander and Blake Countess for the job as the starting strong safety. Rams' head coach Sean McVay named Johnson the third strong safety on the Rams' depth chart, behind veterans Mo Alexander and Blake Countess, to begin the regular season.[10]

He made his professional regular season debut in the Los Angeles Rams' season-opener against the Indianapolis Colts and made one tackle during the 46-9 victory. On October 8, 2017, Johnson made his first career start after the Rams deactivated starting strong safety Mo Alexander for the game. He recorded three combined tackles, defended two passes, and returned the first interception of his career for 69-yards after picking off Seattle Seahawks' quarterback Russell Wilson in a 10–16 loss. In Week 7, he collected a season-high five combined tackles in a 33–0 win over the Arizona Cardinals.[11] On December 10, 2017, Johnson collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (seven solo) and two pass deflections during a 43-35 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 14.[12] He finished his rookie season with 75 combined tackles (56 solo), 11 pass deflections, and an interception in 16 games and 11 starts.[13] Pro Football Focus gave him an overall grade of 85.8, ranking hm 15th among all qualifying safeties in 2017.[14]

The Los Angeles Rams finished atop the NFC West with an 11–5 record. On January 6, 2018, Johnson started his first career playoff game and recorded six combined tackles in the Rams' 26-13 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Wildcard Game.[12]

Personal life

Johnson has an older brother named Travis and they were raised by their parents, John Johnson II and Tanya Johnson. While at Boston college he enrolled as a communication major in the Morrissey College of Arts and Science. Johnson is a recipient of the Jay McGillis '93 Memorial Scholarship Fund.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/college/college_football/2017/03/boston_college_pro_day_works_out_for_john_johnson_ahead_of
  2. ↑ Brian Pavat (June 24, 2012). "Maryland Safety John Johnson Commits To Boston College Football". bcinterupption.com. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  3. ↑ "247sports.com: John Johnson". 247sports.com. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  4. ↑ Gil Brandt (March 21, 2017). "Pro day results: North Carolina, UCLA, Boston College". Nfl.com. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  5. ↑ "John Johnson, DS #7 FS, Boston College". draftscout.com. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  6. ↑ "NFL Draft Profile: John Johnson". NFL.com. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  7. ↑ Klein, Gary (April 28, 2017). "Rams pick Boston College safety John Johnson at No. 91". LATimes.com.
  8. ↑ "Rams sign tight end Gerald Everett, wide receiver Cooper Kupp and safety John Johnson". LATimes.com. June 9, 2017. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
  9. ↑ "Spotrac.com: John Johnson III contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  10. ↑ Cameron DaSilva (September 5, 2017). "Rams release first depth chart of regular season". Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  11. ↑ "NFL Player Profile: John Johnson". NFL.com. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  12. 1 2 "NFL Player stats: John Johnson III (2017)". NFL.com. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  13. ↑ "NFL Player stats: John Johnson (career)". NFL.com. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Pro Football Focus: John Johnson III". profootballfocus.com. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
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