Have any experts said why he fell? I am curious as to his “weakness” that maybe causes the slide? Ones man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
The way I look at it is this: JJ wasn't considered a premier prospect to begin with before Sr Bowl. His pressure rate and pass rash win rate is not great. He did manage to convert whatever pressures he got into sacks, ending up with same # of sacks as Hutch. Also good run defender. He is 23+, full two years older than say KT (who was there was us). Didn't get any playing time in Georgia before that, basically this is the only year he produced. Though he did produce reasonably well last year, he was in essence a second round prospect after the season, no where near KT's level, who was thought of as top 2, possibly top overall. Then Sr Bowl happens. The guy looks like man among boys in few days of practice destroying everyone. Kinda like Lawson practicing against Becton last year. He looked so good, he actually skips the game as not to lower his stock. Then on combine he measures reasonably well. Not Walker level freak, but good. So, a very strong argument can be made he didn't really slide - but few days of practices at Sr Bowl only lifted his stock from second to late first, which in all fairness what should have happened. The guy shouldn't just catapult from 2nd into top 10 after a couple of good practices. Second half of 1st - fair. Now, what makes me more excited about him is that Saleh and Co were actually coaching him and saw this first hand. There were drills coaches asked them to do, and he was there for it. At the end Saleh had him ahead of KT as #8 overall. Saleh is known for his work with Edges. If he was so excited about JJ after getting an advantage of coaching him in practices, either Saleh sucks or JJ is better than what film showed. I think later is true. Still I would have picked KT at 4, but give the above factors, optimistic we got ourselves a good pass rusher finally, hoping a great one. If he end up better than KT or anywhere near as good - this is an absolute slam dunk of epic proportions..
thanks this seems like a reasonable take. I was expecting KT at 4 but I suspect CS and FO must have seen Sauce as pivotal. In some sense they didn’t need that blanket coverage guy given their scheme so they must have seen him as that good then I expected JJ for sure at 10 given all the chatter. To get him this late is awesome. Took some nads to gamble and hope you could snag him later
My guess is that many of the teams that passed on him just had more pressing needs. Sometimes guys just fall for no reason. Look at Aaron Rogers; he was picked to go first or second and, despite there being many teams that needed a QB and there really not being any serious concerns about him, he somehow fell to 24.
One of the things I like most about Johnson is when he is setting the edge, he is excellent at diagnosing when it's a running play and when he can go after the QB. Watch him do that, it's very impressive and it's why he never left the field at FSU, he could be trusted on 1st down as much as 3rd down. they talk about his age and all that but maybe that's why he has those instincts, he learned, he is experienced. Lance Zierlein gave his NFL comp to Maxx Crosby, and I can see that because that's how Crosby is, he is very smart on the edge
I know some people were talking about his age, but that is no issue to me. If the Jets can get 10 years out of him instead of 12? I'll take it. I think his slide in the draft really was just a combination of things. When you invest in a 1st round pick, you want them to be a key piece to your roster. For the Jets, drafting Jermaine was a calculated risk at a position of need. I was fine doing it at #4, or #10. Getting him at #26? Beyond worth it. Amazing really.
you can tell how insanely excited JD and Saleh were to get him. This is a HUGE pick for both. If JD pulled off getting a guy that Saleh could turn into a stud pass rusher, that's a defining moment.
What in the world is "sacks are not stable measures really mean by the GM? Every measure I see about top rushers is all about sacks and are super critical of guys like Lawson because pressures are not a good measure. I give up.
Spot on. I think the talk of him going as high as 4 was moreso on the reports of how much the CS loved JJ. So mocks and insiders ran with that info and started to call him one of the biggest risers of the draft. In reality I don’t think teams saw the same things the Jets saw because the Jets saw him in person. Them coaching in the SR bowl helped make this selection and Saleh raved about him.
I know is way too early to make predictions, but will do it any way. As much as I love the first two picks, I think JJ will be the one to immediately steal the heart of the fans and help take this team to a different level defensively with his passion, his motor and his commitment to the game. A demon for a pass rusher to help a hawk for a CB. Give me an IDL or safety or LB with the next two rounds and this defensive group will absolutely take a giant leap forward. With Sauce and Reed and Hall back and Lawson and JJ rushing, the window for the opposing QB and WR to connect will be a hell of a lot smaller than it has been in many many years. Three picks, one theme. Passion, commitment, leadership, all football.
Not something you love to read. Of course the irony is everybody who didn’t want KT was worried about his attitude and personality but the guy we got fell almost to the second round because of the way he came off in meetings
