STRENGTHS - Johnson has very quick feet, backpedals quickly and has solid hip turn. He has the ability to hit hard and make solid tackles, and has the ability to chase from behind to make tackles in the open field. He has very good sideline to sideline speed and takes good angles when the runner gets past the 3rd level of the defense. He knows where his teammates are and he takes a different angle.
WEAKNESSES - Johnson has a tendency to become content and allow another player to make a play and will quit on the play. He has a tendency to hesitate, especially in open field tackling. Needs to square the runner up better when making a tackle, takes the head fake too easily as well. Would like to see him explode to the football much more. Could improve in zone coverage, does not react very well to the plays.
SUMMARY - Johnson shows some signs of great athleticism. He has excellent speed and quickness and can go sideline to sideline very well. He has a solid hip turn and his footwork in his backpedal are very quick, which allows him to get into man coverage quickly and effectively. Zone coverage is a negative as he does not react to plays quickly enough to be consistently successful here. While Johnson tackles very well and will hit hard, he has a problem with squaring the runner up and closing on him, making a clean tackle. At times, he is hesitant and will wait for the runner to come to him instead of closing on the runner. He also has a tendency to bite on a simple head fake and the runner then just goes right by him. He also does not explode very well to the football, as again, he tends to sit back and wait for the play to come to him. Overall, Johnson has starting caliber athleticism, but his inconsistent production will likely lead to him being a late round pick. He would be an excellent choice by a team with a secondary coach who is very good at improving fundamentals.