A closer look at Philadelphia’s sixth-round pick.
With the 2022 NFL Draft over, it’s time for some film rooms on this year’s rookie class. I will try and get to all the players and some UDFAs over the next few weeks. There are obviously a million scouting profiles out there so this is just my opinion but I’ve tried to backup basically everything I have said with film clips. After starting with Jordan Davis and Cam Jurgens, and Nakobe Dean, we are moving on to Kyron Johnson.
First of all, it was an absolute nightmare to find film of Kyron Johnson or the Kansas defense and a lot of this comes from watching other players vs. the Kansas defense so it is extremely likely that I missed a few plays of his each game but, there wasn’t much else I can do! Huge shoutout to @DoABarrowRoll on Twitter who pretty much saved this article. If you haven’t seen his tape prospect tracker, you can thank me later!
STRENGTHS
+ Is extremely fast and has excellent closing speed. Looks like he could be a run and chase LB at times.
So for all the Eagles sickos out there… Kyron Johnson film thread time. Finding a variety of games was not easy but here we go… He’s number 15. First thing that stands out is )like most Eagles additions this off-season) his speed! He is seriously fast in pursuit. pic.twitter.com/nEgRqc2Vil
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) June 9, 2022
Here’s the obvious speed again… Played DE last year but no way he’s big enough to play on the LOS all the time. He moves like an inside backer with legit speed. pic.twitter.com/y1doizRCBy
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) June 9, 2022
He makes quite a lot of mistakes on zone read plays but when he gets it right he has the speed to almost play both the QB and the RB. He gets caught off because he relies on his speed imo at times… pic.twitter.com/q9znIbzJj5
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) June 9, 2022
Pretty sure he is meant to have the QB here and reads this wrong but the benefit of being extremely fast is that mistakes still only turn into a 4 yard run pic.twitter.com/pJ08dYGqp0
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) June 9, 2022
+ Has an explosive get off and can win immediately at times.
I wouldn’t say he bends well but he can win on the EDGE purely when he wins with explosiveness off the snap. His timing and jump off the snap is so quick. pic.twitter.com/iSe7bY2Q4O
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) June 9, 2022
Probably my favourite rep of his just because of the speed to power and explosiveness of the snap… Eagles really, really have tried to add speed the last few off-seasons after being one of the slowest teams a few years ago. pic.twitter.com/9AuT7WgWvt
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) June 9, 2022
+ Didn’t see a great deal of coverage on film but he flashed some speed and ability, as highlighted here
KS LB Kyron Johnson is a quick cat, here dropping into coverage and closing to knock away a pass from TE Charlie Kolar. He can bend off the edge as a pass rusher and isn’t afraid to punch OL coming his direction. Solid teams guy at the next level. #SnapScout22 pic.twitter.com/fgcZh6AA0a
— Chad Reuter (@chad_reuter) August 21, 2021
+ He’s not the biggest guy but you can see some strength at times and can sometimes see him convert speed to power
Another example of some good strength despite being seriously undersized, you see a few examples of OTs on the floor and some speed to power at times. pic.twitter.com/3KSzLHYWWR
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) June 9, 2022
+ Didn’t see any missed tackles on tape, seemed to wrap up pretty well and consistently.
I mean at times he really looks like a linebacker rather than an EDGE. I assume Eagles see him as depth at Reddick’s position but he’s far more a linebacker than an EDGE at times. Going to be an interesting fit if he gets on the field. pic.twitter.com/Jy8sPjTDmk
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) June 9, 2022
+ Energy! Looks like a nasty aggressive player, exactly what you want in a special teams player. Was giving a lot of talk at the senior bowl
There is no love lost between the OL and DL on day two of @seniorbowl practice. The energy is high for every rep.
Here’s a good look at @KU_Football LB Kyron Johnson running straight through Abraham Lucas — with some extra words after the takedown pic.twitter.com/YoaOhb8WXf
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) February 2, 2022
+ Has good quickness to avoid blocks before contact is initiated and fast hands to rip through offensive tackles
Again, the bend isn’t brilliant but good quickness to avoid contact and also shows a good rip move to get off contact and force the QB to step up. You can see some pass rushing moves when watching him for sure. pic.twitter.com/P5EcWRQAjZ
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) June 9, 2022
Hell of a job on this sack… Rips through the tackle and has enough wiggle to get to the football. The speed/explosiveness I expected based on what I’d read but some of the pass rushing moves were a surprise! pic.twitter.com/AZchgDHbsm
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) June 9, 2022
He was too good for the Texas OT when rushing. Ends up rushing quite deep due to his lack of true bend but he disengaged from the OT quickly consistently got pressure on the QB. pic.twitter.com/pCtsNyiEG2
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) June 9, 2022
Did I go back to find clips of him rushing from an ILB position? Of course I did! That speed and explosiveness from this position is pretty handy. You can see a little (very little) bit of Nakobe Dean if you squint in terms of speed and body type pic.twitter.com/wQwwwYKFDf
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) June 9, 2022
+ Can create turnovers, caused 8 forced fumbles in the past 2 years.
+ Didn’t see it on film but looks like he should have the ability to potentially spy QBs and chase them down when they escape the pocket (this is something the Eagles really seem to have targeted this year).
+ 604 Special teams snaps… I couldn’t find any special teams film or tackles but he’s meant to be a special teams superstar and it wouldn’t surprise me based on his speed and tackling.
+ Had a really, really good pro day and senior bowl from what I have read and seen. Full disclaimer though with these videos, in these one on ones the DL has a huge advantage so I would take these clips lightly, but still. You can see the strengths mentioned above. It seems a big reason why people liked him as a late round pick.
Low man wins. Kyron Johnson runs over the OT pic.twitter.com/jlpqlKPUY3
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) February 2, 2022
Kyron Johnson vs a first round tackle. pic.twitter.com/qesEpID11X
— justin (@justinontwt) April 30, 2022
WEAKNESSES
– Difficult to see a clear fit. Played EDGE but can’t win there consistently. Looks too small to be a linebacker too and will get swallowed up in the run game.
– He looks a bit like a safety blitzing here size wise, shows how undersized he is even for an EDGE
EDGE Kyron Johnson vs OT Trevor Penning
Catch the #SeniorBowl live on NFL Network on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 1:30 p.m. CT. pic.twitter.com/t5egd52LLw
— Kevin Knight (@FalcoholicKevin) February 1, 2022
– Struggles against zone read and relies on his speed too often
– Didn’t see many examples of man coverage on tight ends or running backs.
– Extremely short arms and struggles to get off contact if he doesn’t win instantly.
So obviously a 6th round pick will have a fair few weaknesses… The obvious being he is nowhere near a consistent pass rusher and despite flashing glimpses of talent has a lot and lot of nothing reps. pic.twitter.com/fcbzlIrvWr
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) June 9, 2022
He get stonewalled by TE’s a fair few times too and is a bit of a non-factor in the run game due to his size quite a lot too pic.twitter.com/c8ZP0qPDUL
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) June 9, 2022
Again, you see a fair amount of this over and over again… When an OT makes contact with him he doesn’t really have the strength to do a great deal. It’s win early in the rep or lose most of the time pic.twitter.com/VTPAzI2LCM
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) June 9, 2022
– Wins with quickness rather than great bend consistently.
OVERALL
Kyron Johnson was a linebacker until this past year, where he played strictly as a defensive end. He looks like a great fit for the SAM Hybrid LB/EDGE that the Eagles signed Haason Reddick to play. He should fit the bill as someone who can be as a LB on the LOS but can rush the quarterback too.
The Eagles have made a huge emphasis the past two seasons to get faster. Kyron Johnson clearly fits that bill. As a 6th round pick, he may never even play on defense, but I think he has a great shot to make the roster because of just athletic he is and how good he should be on special teams. If he becomes a special teams star only, he would still be a good pick in the 6th.
I won’t pretend to have really strong opinions on 6th round picks and the purpose of this article was to figure out what type of player he was really. He obviously has some pretty clear weaknesses and he may never be able to overcome the short arms and size issue to play any sort of a role on defense. But taking a player who clearly fits a position in your defense behind a clear starter, is super athletic, will contribute on special teams and had a really good pro-day/senior bowl seems like an excellent 6th round pick to me.
He will be a fun player to track over the next few preseasons because he clearly has the upside and talent to make a splash play or two. l can’t lie, some of those Senior Bowl reps do get me a little bit more excited than I probably should be but… isn’t that the fun of being a fan?!
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