Overview
Position: Safety
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 210 pounds
School: Florida Gators
Combine Performance Data
40-yard dash: 4.48 seconds
Bench press: 17 reps
Vertical jump: 36 inches
Three-cone drill: 7.03 seconds
20-yard shuttle: 4.20 seconds
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson 2019 NFL Draft Profile
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson enters the 2019 NFL Draft on the heels of the best season of his collegiate career. Appearing in 13 games (starting 11), Gardner-Johnson finished 2018 with 71 tackles, three sacks, and four interceptions. The Florida native’s four interceptions led the team and he returned two of those interceptions for touchdowns.
Gardner-Johnson initially made his college football debut as a true freshman back in 2016. Appearing in 11 games, the first-year safety recorded 32 tackles, three interceptions, and three pass breakups. Gardner-Johnson improved on his promising freshman season by continuing to improve as a sophomore. Once again appearing in 11 games, Gardner-Johnson finished his 2017 season with 58 tackles, six tackles-for-loss, one sack, two interceptions, and seven passes defended.
Throughout the course of his career, Gardner-Johnson has recorded 161 tackles, 15.5 tackles-for-loss, four sacks, nine interceptions, and 12 passes defended. The safety has a knack for making plays in the biggest of games, as Gardner-Johnson won Outback Bowl MVP in 2017 and Peach Bowl MVP in 2018. Additionally, he has a knack for the endzone, as he’s returned three of his nine career interceptions for touchdowns.
Strengths
- a versatile defender capable of playing both safety positions and dropping into the slot;
- ideal build for the position;
- quick recovery ability;
- hard-hitting defender over the middle;
- should be able to cover tight ends in man coverage at the next level;
- fast acceleration allows for quick closing breaks when playing zone.
Weaknesses
- slow to react when dropped in zone coverage;
- subpar footwork will need fine-tuning;
- misses too many tackles in the run game;
- occasionally fooled in coverage and breaks on the wrong routes;
- route anticipation in man coverage needs to improve.
NFL Comparison: T.J. Ward
Teams With a Need: Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions
Projection: Third to fourth round
Bottom Line
Garder-Johnson has the tools to be a starting-caliber safety in the NFL. He’s a versatile player capable of lining up all across the defensive formation and can play man or zone coverage. He’s one of the faster players at his position and punishing hits when he cannot break up the pass.
However, Garder-Johnson still has a few areas to improve before he’s ready to be a full-time starter. His instincts are a little slow and he relies on his impressive speed and high-level acceleration to get to the ball. If he can improve his footwork and football I.Q., his already-impressive range would be one of the best in the NFL. Gardner-Johnson has great straight-line speed but needs to improve his lateral agility to match up against elite NFL slot receivers.
In an ideal world, Gardner-Johnson will start out the year as the third safety and play situationally while adjusting to the NFL game. Look for him to show flashes as a rookie, but his ultimate ceiling will be determined by his ability to better anticipate plays. If he can do this, he should be a longtime NFL starter. However, at the very least, Gardner-Johnson’s versatility ensures that he’ll be a meaningful part of a roster.
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
