Overview
Position: Cornerback
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 195 pounds
School: Utah Utes
Combine Performance Data
40-yard dash: 4.50 seconds
Bench press: 15 reps
Vertical jump: 36.5 inches
Broad jump: 10 feet, 4 inches
Three-cone drill: 7.01 seconds
20-yard shuttle: 4.13 seconds (tied for third-best among cornerbacks)
Jaylon Johnson 2020 NFL Draft Profile
Anyone who follows the NFL knows the extreme importance of having a talented secondary. This year’s draft class is loaded with depth and talent all across the board at the cornerback position. While he isn’t at the head of his class, there are very few out there with more potential than Utah Utes cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Throughout his college career, he showcased the potential to one day be an elite corner in the NFL. His numbers speak for himself as he tallied a total of 102 tackles, seven interceptions, and 21 passes defended in his three-year college career. Gladney was also named to the First-team All-Pac-12 twice for his efforts in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
As a four-star recruit out of high school, Johnson had his fair share of offers to play college football. He received offers from some of the top schools in the nation including Georgia, Oklahoma, and Michigan. Johnson ultimately decided that Utah was the best fit for him and officially signed with them on October 28th, 2016. Johnson was a starter for all three years of his college career but ran into his fair share of struggles in his freshman campaign. He made tremendous strides in coverage during his sophomore season, which he sustained throughout the rest of his career. Following the conclusion of his junior season, Gladney officially declared for the 2020 NFL Draft.
Strengths
- possesses the ideal size to compete at the next level;
- has the adequate speed to match up with the majority of receivers;
- exceptional recovery speed if a defender slips by him;
- excels in press coverage and wins with physicality at the line of scrimmage;
- has fluid hip movement which helps him mirror his receivers movement;
- possesses great ball skills when the ball is thrown in his direction;
- not highly penalized throughout his career which will intrigue scouts;
- played against a high level of competition in his three years at Utah;
- has some inconsistencies, but has a higher ceiling than most prospects.
Weaknesses
- occasionally gets over-aggressive and will anticipate a receiver’s route
- seems to have a low motor on run plays as he displays a lack of effort;
- will need to improve his tackling form as he missed multiple at the college level;
- while he isn’t slow, he may have trouble against the faster receivers in the league;
- has a lot of minor inconsistencies that he will need to work on in order to have sustained success in the NFL;
Teams With Need at Position: Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins
Projection: early to mid-second round
Bottom Line
Jaylon Johnson has all the necessary skills to be successful at the next level. His prototypical height mixed with his top-notch coverage skills will garner interest from any team in need of a cornerback. He will need to improve his tackling and lack of effort in the run game in order to be an elite corner. Johnson does have some inconsistencies and may need time to develop, but with a little work could one day evolve into an elite NFL corner. All in all, Johnson is a talented player with more positives than negatives who will likely be selected in the 25-40 range in the upcoming draft.
