It’s the off-season for the New England Patriots, which means it’s NFL draft season for fans and experts.
Among the Patriots’ greatest needs at the end of April will likely be a cornerstone offensive tackle on which to build their offensive line of the future. If Bill Belichick sees things the same way, he’ll have some solid NFL-ready talent to choose from with the No. 14 pick in the first round.
Though Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski, widely thought of as the most pro-ready prospect at the position, will probably go in the top 10 of the draft, arguably the next-best option, Ohio State’s Paris Johnson Jr., could still be available.
The 6-foot-6, 310-pound offensive lineman led a sterling Buckeye unit up front that allowed just 12 sacks of quarterback C.J. Stroud all season long, with Johnson being responsible for just two sacks in 827 offensive snaps at left tackle. He also played right guard his sophomore year, showing off the versatility to play multiple positions and both sides of the line.
He earned first-team All-Big Ten and All-American honors for his work this season, which was his first full campaign as a starter, and ranked 11th out of 610 college tackles graded by Pro Football Focus last season.
Though he’s relatively inexperienced as a true junior, which might give Belichick and the Patriots some pause, Johnson plays a patient, mature brand of football for his age that stands out on film.
While he happens to possess strong movement skills and elite length for the tackle position, he doesn’t rely solely on athletic gifts, displaying strong technique and awareness in the passing game especially. His pass sets are balanced with good knee bend, leaving few openings for pass rushers to exploit, and he maintains good pad level in the run game for a tall, long tackle.
He also does a good job of keeping his hands inside, which helps him avoid holding penalties and handle bull rushes more effectively. Even when defenders get into his body and push him back, he rarely gets completely overwhelmed, anchoring and holding his ground with strong core strength.
Johnson additionally displays a good knack for not lunging at blockers or throwing his hands too soon, waiting for pass rushers to make their move before striking and re-adjusting his feet to wall them off. Games and delayed rushes typically don’t fool him, either, as he stays sound to his assignments and doesn’t get complacent when no one comes his way initially.
He’ll sometimes get beat with counters and give up pressures on late inside rushes, but his athleticism usually allows him to stay in the picture and recover enough to keep defenders off of the quarterback. You’ll never see Johnson quit on a play even when it looks like he’s lost at first.
If that wasn’t enough, Johnson also earned the Armed Forces Merit Award through his foundation’s work to raise money for military veterans, student-athletes and those suffering from homelessness. Belichick and his staff might just faint once they get to interview him about that.
Whether it was on the left or right side, Johnson would stand a strong chance of starting as a rookie if he ended up on the Patriots next season. Right tackle is currently a gaping hole with Isaiah Wynn almost certainly gone and Conor McDermott a replacement-level starter. On the other side, Trent Brown didn’t have an amazing year at left tackle in 2022 and isn’t a lock contractually to stick around next year. A move back to right tackle might not be a terrible thing for him, though his experience on that side would help left guard Cole Strange more than playing next to a rookie in theory.
Regardless of where he played in Year 1, though, Johnson feels like he’ll be the left tackle of the future and a talented protected of Mac Jones’ (or whoever else’s) blindside going forward.
If he were available at No. 14 overall, that might end up being a player the Patriots should sprint up to the podium for.