Jamar Johnson 2021 NFL Draft Profile

Jamar Johnson is one of the biggest sleeper prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft. Johnson is an extremely talented player who is a quality player at the safety position. Johnson mainly plays as a free safety, but he has experience playing as a box safety and as a slot corner, though he will more than likely play free safety at the NFL Level. Johnson was a 3-star recruit coming out of High School and committed to play at Indiana University in 2018.

During his freshman season, Johnson did not play much, only getting 15 snaps the whole season. He had two total tackles and one interception during those extremely limited snaps, however. During his sophomore season, Johnson got significantly more playing time, with about 300 snaps. He spent most of those 2019 snaps as a box safety, which got him three sacks, one forced fumble, and 23 total tackles.

Johnson burst onto the scene during his Junior season. He spent the vast majority of his snaps as a free safety, and ended up with 34 total tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, as well as four interceptions and three passes defended. Johnson displayed incredible playmaking ability and showed off several aspects to his game that are bound to “wow” NFL General Managers.

Strengths

Incredible hips. Able to rotate and make plays on the ball very effectively;

Manipulated Justin Fields very well in his 2020 matchup with Ohio State;

Constantly making incredible NFL-quality plays;

Very explosive when breaking on the football;

Extremely special ball skills;

Natural player at the free safety position.

Weaknesses

Limited experience overall (roughly 800 career snaps);

Lacks ability to shed blocks from tight ends;

Not particularly great as a run defender;

Lacks high-end speed (ran a 4.58 40-yard-dash);

Lacks aggressive physicality;

Prefers to strip the ball rather than wrap up.

NFL Comparison: John Johnson

Projection: Round 2

Bottom Line on Jamar Johnson

Overall, Jamar Johnson is an extremely underrated safety prospect. He has incredible hips, great understanding and knowledge of the game, and had a great game against potential top 3 pick Justin Fields. Johnson’s lack of experience is a concern, but he has clearly overcame that because his film clearly shows that he understands the game.

Although Johnson has not received a lot of hype before the draft, he truly has the potential to be a solid steal on day 2 of the draft. He can be a great plug and play at free safety in a single high or a two-high defensive scheme. His lack of physicality in the run game makes for a less than ideal run defender, but as a pure free safety in a single high scheme, I truly believe he can flourish.