The New York Jets look to have hit a home run during the 2022 NFL Draft. In the first round, they selected the eventual Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year, landing cornerback Sauce Gardner at No. 4 overall and wide receiver Garrett Wilson at No. 10.
While those two garnered a ton of headlines, and rightfully so, the Jets had a third first-round pick that has flown under the radar. With the No. 26 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Jets selected Florida State linebacker, Jermaine Johnson II.
Johnson didn’t have as big of a role as Gardner and Wilson in his rookie season, as he didn’t break into the starting lineup. Instead, he played a rotational role, playing 34 percent of the plays, 312 total snaps.
Despite the limited role, Johnson was productive in showing off his immense talent. He finished the season with 29 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, three tackles for loss and five quarterback hits.
Heading into Year 2 of his career, the former Seminole revealed that he is feeling “insanely more comfortable” this offseason. Johnson believes that his level of comfortability will help him take that second-year leap so many players before him have taken.
“I just feel day and night in terms of explosiveness,” Johnson said during OTAs. “Explosiveness, technique, building my body, stuff like that. Just old school, you know. Just in the weight room all the time, eating, making sure I’m good. We like to make jokes. I just had a daughter, so now I have the father strength they call it or whatnot. But I’m just seeing crazy changes right now, it’s making me very excited and I know everyone else in the building is excited because when I’m at my best, I know it’s just going to help the team.”
There is a buzz around the Jets heading into training camp because of the acquisition of Aaron Rodgers. But, it will take more than one player to help this team reach the levels that they believe they are capable of.
Young players, such as Johnson, developing and turning their potential into production on the field is a recipe for success. If he can continue producing at the same rate that he did as a rookie with an expanded role, the Jets are going to have a vaunted pass rush.
The 2022 first-round pick should be motivated to perform as the Jets doubled down with a pass rusher in this year’s first-round pick, selecting Will McDonald IV. Someone will be left with a smaller role than they would like and if Johnson wants to see more playing time than he had as a rookie, he not only has to hold off McDonald but showcase a developed skill set.
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