After being released by the Lions earlier in the week Johnson figured to have a market on waivers, and the Eagles were wise to snatch up the former second round pick.
At just 23 years old (he turns 24 in June) and only 802 carries on his legs since high school, Johnson has plenty left in the tank. With one of the more polished third-down skillsets in the league—hauling in 61 of 80 targets for 527 yards (8.6 ypc) through three seasons, along with plus pass-protection (his 84.8 career pass-block grade ranks 6th among all active RBs, according to PFF)—he was understandably in demand as a flier/high-floor role piece after being waived.
Johnson is a patient runner who hits the hole with impressive burst and physicality. There isn’t any home run speed here, and without elite agility or size he really doesn’t have a skill to hang his hat on as a feature back; but a well-rounded running style and reliability on third-down makes him useful to any backfield.
The Eagles now have a handful of capable backs on their roster. Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Kenneth Gainwell, Jordan Howard, and now Johnson.
Watching how the backfield unfolds throughout training camp will be one of the more interesting battles to keep an eye on.
4 comments