NFL Scouting Combine: Penn State's Theo Johnson Delivers an Epic Performance

Johnson's athleticism was well known at Penn State, where he set the program's 40-yard dash record among tight ends (4.51 seconds). Breaking 4.6 seconds at the combine, however, was an exceptional feat, one that will continue to launch his draft arc. 

Though Johnson is getting dinged in some circles for his senior-year catch numbers (32 receptions for 325 yards), those rates don't reflect his full contributions to the offense. Johnson played in a system over the past two years that valued his skills across the field as a backfield blocker (the famous T formation), lined in the slot and even stretched wide on occasion. At the combine, Johnson thanked Penn State for deploying him in multiple ways.

"At Penn State, I appreciated the opportunity I had. I was able to showcase all that tight end can do," Johnson said. "... That was a unique experience for me, because I'm able to show NFL teams that I'm able to lineup up anywhere on the field."

Johnson already had boosted his draft stock with a strong week at the 2024 Senior Bowl. Expect that to keep rising.

"I think there's a good chance he's the third tight end drafted, just because there's such an appetite for that wide tight end, that big, nasty, inline tight end who does a great job in the middle of the field," ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller said on a recent conference call. "No, you're not flexing them out and asking them to play wide receiver, but they're super-reliable players. But I do think that his stock is on the rise."