Round 3 - The Carolina Panthers Select DJ Johnson - EDGE - Oregon

[poundaway]

Meh.  Not a huge fan of the pick, but he's a very big and fast run stuffer who will probably be pretty good at setting the edge, something we haven't been great at.  He played both ways and apparently can rise to the occasion.  He played an important roll in the Ohio State upset.

https://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/2021/09/dj-johnson-makes-critical-plays-both-ways-for-oregon-ducks.html

"During the pivotal final minutes, Johnson caught a pass for 11 yards to convert a third down to take critical time off the clock. Following a punt, Johnson sacked Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud on the final play of the game."

Evero wanted him, and he's a late rounder.  Lets see how this plays out.

[WUnderhill]

Boy this is an awful lot of hand wringing over trading away the 4th to last pick in the 4th round.

[Wundrbread33]

2 hours ago, rebelrouser said:

Giving away draft capital and making head scratching picks threeyears in a row now.  Matt Corral, Brandon Smith, Deonte Brown, Keith Taylor, Davion Nixon, Tommy Tremble all wasted picks. We should have hired a new GM when we hired the new coaching staff. Tepper is an idiot.

Most draft picks for every team don’t make it for long. 
 

That being said, there are at least three on that list that you are being wildly impatient with. 

[pantherj]

I didn't understand the Corral pick at the time, and it doesn't make any kind of sense now. Just tossing away draft capital. I'm hoping we trade Corral to get something back. Ultimately if Young becomes our franchise QB then all is forgiven. Fitt can stay here forever if Young is good. If not, then everyone is getting fired obviously.

[Tbe]

Analysis of Fitt by SI…

PICKS BY POSITION

QB (1): Matt Corral

RB (1): Chuba Hubbard

WR (2): Terrace Marshall Jr., Shi Smith

TE (1): Tommy Tremble

FB (0): N/A

OL (4): Brady Christensen, Deonte Brown, Ikem Ekwonu, Cade Mays

DL (3): Daviyon Nixon, Phil Hoskins, Amaré Barno

LB (1): Brandon Smith

CB (3): Jaycee Horn, Keith Taylor, Kalon Barnes

S (0): N/A

K: (0): N/A

P (0): N/A

LS (1): Thomas Fletcher

PICKS WHO ARE FULL-TIME STARTERS (3/17; 17%)

OL Brady Christensen, Ikem Ekwonu

CB Jaycee Horn

PICKS NO LONGER WITH TEAM (3/17; 17%)

DL Daviyon Nixon

CB Kalon Barnes

LS Thomas Fletcher

[Krovvy]

10 hours ago, Shocker said:

Post-Draft Analysis

A former tight end and 24-year-old prospect, Johnson reminds me of Brian Burns in the way he plays and will fit that same role in the stand-up, outside rusher position. Johnson likely factors in as a rotational pass-rusher out of the gate, but he could continue to develop and push Yetur Gross-Matos opposite Burns. -- Matt Miller

Brian Burns has elite bend and flexibility to be able to dip and get round tackles. That's this guy's worst trait.

Edited April 30, 2023 by Krovvy

[Shocker]

2 minutes ago, Krovvy said:

Brian Burns has elite bend and flexibility to be able to dip and get round tackles. That's this guy's worst trait.

I didn’t say I agreed…I think that is a pretty crazy take and makes me wonder if he even knows the player

[Krovvy]

Just now, Shocker said:

I didn’t say I agreed…I think that is a pretty crazy take and makes me wonder if he even knows the player

Yeah, I don't think he does. Brian Burns famously has two things, elite flexibility, and burst. This guy's two biggest weaknesses are those two things.

[Shocker]

10 minutes ago, Tbe said:

Analysis of Fitt by SI…

PICKS BY POSITION

QB (1): Matt Corral

RB (1): Chuba Hubbard

WR (2): Terrace Marshall Jr., Shi Smith

TE (1): Tommy Tremble

FB (0): N/A

OL (4): Brady Christensen, Deonte Brown, Ikem Ekwonu, Cade Mays

DL (3): Daviyon Nixon, Phil Hoskins, Amaré Barno

LB (1): Brandon Smith

CB (3): Jaycee Horn, Keith Taylor, Kalon Barnes

S (0): N/A

K: (0): N/A

P (0): N/A

LS (1): Thomas Fletcher

PICKS WHO ARE FULL-TIME STARTERS (3/17; 17%)

OL Brady Christensen, Ikem Ekwonu

CB Jaycee Horn

PICKS NO LONGER WITH TEAM (3/17; 17%)

DL Daviyon Nixon

CB Kalon Barnes

LS Thomas Fletcher

That is 2 drafts,  pretty small sample size there and the last draft we didn’t have hardly any picks

Edited April 30, 2023 by Shocker

[Tbe]

16 minutes ago, Shocker said:

That is 2 drafts,  pretty small sample size there and the last draft we didn’t have hardly any picks

Exactly. Not enough data. It does look like he might have a nack for OL talent.

[Stuart Smith]

11 hours ago, WUnderhill said:

I don’t know much about the player, but if you look at the trade itself it makes a lot of sense. First, LBs/Edge guys were coming off the board fast. Just a couple picks earlier, Zach Harrison, Marte Mapu, and Byron Young all came off the board in a row. Then a pick after we took Johnson, Diaby came off the board, and just a couple picks later Simpson and Henley came off.

It’s fallacious to assume that nobody else was targeting Johnson just because he wasn’t high on the media radar. Did anybody in the media have Marte Mapu going before Trenton Simpson? It’s interesting some people defending the Mingo pick and hating on the Johnson pick because the arguments against both are similar. When Mingo was picked, I was a bit disappointed because it seemed like a reach based on the media boards, so I get it, but ultimately I understand why they made that pick and this one. Both guys have skill sets and athletic profiles that are hard to find in the other players left on the board. If we’re looking for a big dude who can set the edge, contain the run, rush the passer as a 3-4 OLB, and also put his hands in the dirt when needed, there just wasn’t much to choose from in the entirety of the draft. Even if you look at Ojulari at the top of the second, you’re looking at a guy who has question marks around taking on blockers and stopping the run, though the pass rush skills are better. Even the age makes a little bit of sense, for instance I wanted Sanders for the same role, but he would have spent 2 years bulking up to be as big as Johnson is now, and Johnson has already shown he can carry the weight and retain his athleticism. 

In their presser, Fitt/Reich talked about the four different types of linebackers they need, and Johnson fills a gap there. It’s dangerous to assume that just because the media isn’t as high on a guy (which, btw, there were some who had him ranked close to where we took him), that he will be there at 93 or 114. If they felt the gap was significant between him and the next guy who fit that profile for them, then the smart move is to go get him. As the draft goes on, the differences in big boards increases, I’m just giving the new coaching staff the benefit of the doubt for now. I can’t call them an all star staff up until the draft and immediately turn on them.

Well said! Two months ago our coaching staff was awesome, now there are a lot of melt downs over a 4th round pick. We are not privy to every scrap of information about these players, there may be a lot we do not know. As far as going by the “experts” and pundits who write these articles and evaluate these players many know nothing about them, just repeating what others have said. Truth be known, every draft pick taken this weekend is a gamble. Mel Kiper? How did it go picking Levi’s in the top ten? I will trust this coaching staff until they fail to improve this franchise. Their job depends on it. 

[Jackie Lee]

3 hours ago, Stuart Smith said:

Well said! Two months ago our coaching staff was awesome, now there are a lot of melt downs over a 4th round pick. We are not privy to every scrap of information about these players, there may be a lot we do not know. As far as going by the “experts” and pundits who write these articles and evaluate these players many know nothing about them, just repeating what others have said. Truth be known, every draft pick taken this weekend is a gamble. Mel Kiper? How did it go picking Levi’s in the top ten? I will trust this coaching staff until they fail to improve this franchise. Their job depends on it. 

It's a shame Mel Kiper has a career predicting young peoples futures. 

[Toker Smurf]

12 hours ago, WUnderhill said:

Boy this is an awful lot of hand wringing over trading away the 4th to last pick in the 4th round.

There is also an awful lot of hand wringing over people voicing their opinions of a fourth round pick. 

[bythenbrs]

14 hours ago, WOW!! said:

Way more confident on Evro and Capers then Snow..

Jon provides pretty good commentary on this board.  I’d give him a little more credit than that…