John Johnson ranked among 10 best Safeties in NFL...

John Johnson ranked among 10 best safeties in NFL

Cameron DaSilva

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

John Johnson III wasn’t a highly coveted prospect out of Boston College in the 2017 NFL draft. He wasn’t grouped among the top safeties in the class such as Jamal Adams, Malik Hooker, Jabrill Peppers and Budda Baker, getting somewhat overlooked by teams.

In fact, there were nine safeties drafted ahead of Johnson in 2017, which is startling in hindsight. Johnson may not be better than Adams, but you could easily make the case that he’s the best safety to come out of the class.

Doug Farrar ranked the 11 best safeties in the NFL for Touchdown Wire and Johnson deservingly made the list. He checked in at No. 10, one spot behind Micah Hyde of the Buffalo Bills.

Farrar acknowledges that Johnson was a “boom-and-bust player” in 2018 because he made some big plays but allowed six touchdowns (per PFF), but that doesn’t diminish his overall value to the Rams.

As a run defender and middle of the field coverage guy, Johnson is an aggressive and opportunistic asset. He proved the former with his 100 tackles and 37 stops, and as a safety/linebacker hybrid in Wade Phillips’ defense, he has the leaping ability to take away contested catches, as well as the quickness and closing ability to take passes away from a deep third alignment. If he cleans up his coverage a bit in the seasons to come, Johnson has the talent to be a top-three safety overall.

Johnson will have a new partner at safety this year with Eric Weddle coming aboard in free agency. They’re two versatile defenders who can play either safety spot, which gives Wade Phillips some options on the back end.

The arrival of Weddle will only help Johnson’s development, too. He’s set on taking Johnson “to that next level” this year and says he can be a great safety for a long time. Weddle isn’t wrong, either.

Should Johnson continue on his current trajectory, he’ll be a Pro Bowler in 2019.