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“A three-year starter at Penn State, Johnson was a versatile tight end in former offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich’s RPO-based scheme, splitting his time between inline (47.9 percent), slot (38.8 percent) and wide (9.8 percent). A wide receiver in high school in Canada, he faced a steep transition moving to tight end at State College and didn’t have a 100-yard receiving performance in 45 college games (and reached 75 yards just once). But his production steadily climbed each season, and he led the Nittany Lions in touchdown grabs in 2023. Johnson is quick off the ball and builds his speed downfield, giving his quarterback a big target with his size, strong hands and athletic catch radius. As a blocker, he doesn’t embarrass himself but needs to better understand leverage and develop more of a glass-chewing mentality. Overall, Johnson has inconsistent college tape and production, but he has A-plus measurements and smooth athletic tools that could allow him to continue developing and become a better pro than college player. Although he is a work in progress, he is a worthy long-term investment for an NFL team.” – Dane Brugler, The Athletic
“Highly recruited out of high school, Johnson looks the part with an above-average frame and traits. While teams might want to place him in an elevated silo for consideration, they might not find the consistency or high number of flashes on tape that they were expecting. Johnson’s run blocking is below average for his size, and adopting a glass-eating mentality in conjunction with technique work could help him improve in that area. He’ll make contested catches and is adequate against man coverage, but he lacks dynamic qualities as a pass catcher. Traits will work in his favor, but there is work to be done to become anything more than an average backup.” – Lance Zierlein, NFL Network
