Guest Aloysius Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 According to one report, the Browns sent scouts to Georgia Tech's pro day today specifically to check out Michael Johnson. Per the same report, the 6'7", 266 pound pass-rusher ran his 40 somewhere between 4.52 and 4.59 seconds and timed in at 7.31 seconds in the 3-cone. Johnson's a tremendous athlete and has drawn comparison to Mathias Kiwanuka. However, he's not a guy I'm particularly excited about. Though he put up 28 reps of 225 at the Combine, he doesn't look very strong on tape. Intelligence may also be an issue, as Johnson has a habit of making bad mistakes: in GTech's bowl game, he both jumped offside and drew a roughing the passer penalty. I'm a bit surprised that the Browns would be interested in him, but I guess Johnson's physical tools are too intriguing not to investigate, especially considering he could still be on the board at #36. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballpeen Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Johnson is a second round target......scouting po's for the Tampa pick??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aloysius Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 He'll probably be off the board by then. The Panthers are reportedly considering taking him in the 1st Round if they end up trading Julius Peppers; John Fox personally attended Johnson's pro day. Late 1st/early 2nd seems to be where he'll get drafted. He's a risky pick, given that he never was an every down DE or notched more than 7 sacks in a season. Also, there were reports that he backed out of the Senior Bowl because he "just didn't feel like playing" (later on, his people claimed it was because of a shoulder injury). EDIT: The Panthers don't have a first round pick because of the Jeff Otah trade. They must be considering taking him in the 2nd Round...or maybe with a 1st Round pick they'd get for Peppers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldcrow1945 Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 Seems too much like a 4-3 end. Could he handle playing end in a 3-4 with that slight frame? They certainly are not looking at him as an OLB are they? He ran a fast 40 time but man, a 6'7" OLB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aloysius Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 They'd be looking at him as an OLB. He wasn't stout enough to play 4-3 end on run downs, so I doubt he can bulk up and play 3-4 DE. He's a physical specimen, but he may not be anything more than a situational pass rusher at the next level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heckofajobbrownie Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 I think he's got "bust" written all over him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballpeen Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 He'll probably be off the board by then. The Panthers are reportedly considering taking him in the 1st Round if they end up trading Julius Peppers; John Fox personally attended Johnson's pro day. Late 1st/early 2nd seems to be where he'll get drafted. He's a risky pick, given that he never was an every down DE or notched more than 7 sacks in a season. Also, there were reports that he backed out of the Senior Bowl because he "just didn't feel like playing" (later on, his people claimed it was because of a shoulder injury). EDIT: The Panthers don't have a first round pick because of the Jeff Otah trade. They must be considering taking him in the 2nd Round...or maybe with a 1st Round pick they'd get for Peppers. maybe so....may be more a look at our 1st pick in round 2. Doesn't mean we are taking him....just doing our homework. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calfoxwc Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 He's supposed to be a spectacular physical talent, but the question was, his concentration on the game, and the desire to play it. I'd avoid that one. Browns can NOT take the chance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louisville Slugger Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 If hes there at our pick in the 2nd I will be hot if we dont take him. He looks like the best 3-4 OLB in the draft and has the most potential. He holds up in the run well enough to be a SOLB and has raw pass rushing skill that could be polished if coached up. He uses his hand and length to his advantage and comes off blocks well. I doubt he makes it out of the top 20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aloysius Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 From what I saw, he either came off the field or moved back to 4-3 linebacker on running downs. I also saw him get absolutely mauled by a 280 pound freshman FSU offensive lineman...Not sure he's strong enough to set the edge as a 3-4 OLB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heckofajobbrownie Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 He reminds me of Calais Campbell from last year, a guy who everyone talked about at the top of round one coming into the year, and then everyone watched him get pushed around for 11-12 games. (Gosder Cherilus positively embarrassed Campbell.) Lanky doesn't cut it in football. It's too easy for a guy like Joe Thomas to drive you around like a car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louisville Slugger Posted March 11, 2009 Report Share Posted March 11, 2009 Take a look at him in the BC game and you can see the potential he has. Looked good in coverage played with nice leverage came off block and got heat on the QB. Those attributes transfer over to a solid 3-4 OLB. I dont like him as much as Woodley coming out but he has 20 times more potential. The main thing about 3-4 OLB is coming blocks and rushing the QB. If we polish up his technique he will be one of the best defensive players in the draft. Also he is lanky but has plenty of room to add 10 lbs and still keep his burst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YtownBrownsBacker Posted March 11, 2009 Report Share Posted March 11, 2009 Take a look at him in the BC game and you can see the potential he has. Looked good in coverage played with nice leverage came off block and got heat on the QB. Those attributes transfer over to a solid 3-4 OLB. I dont like him as much as Woodley coming out but he has 20 times more potential. The main thing about 3-4 OLB is coming blocks and rushing the QB. If we polish up his technique he will be one of the best defensive players in the draft. Also he is lanky but has plenty of room to add 10 lbs and still keep his burst. So are you saying if they take Orakpo at #5 you would still take another OLB with #36 or #50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louisville Slugger Posted March 11, 2009 Report Share Posted March 11, 2009 Orakpo reminds me of Bryan Thomas a workout warrior that will be a decent starter but not worth top 5 money. I would rather have Johnson in the 2nd the Orakpo at 5 no question. Im not really in love with anyone at the 5, mid to Late 1st looks like where all the real value is with guys like Maclin, Moreno, Malaluga, Tyson Jackson, Johnson etc. If we stay at 5 my opinion the best players for us would be Crabtree, Curry, and Raji in that order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aloysius Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 Take a look at him in the BC game and you can see the potential he has. Looked good in coverage played with nice leverage came off block and got heat on the QB. Those attributes transfer over to a solid 3-4 OLB. I dont like him as much as Woodley coming out but he has 20 times more potential. He did make a nice play in coverage in that game. He's one of the rare 6'7" guys who's capable of making the transition to 3-4 OLB. The BC game was probably the best I've seen him play. But the problem is that 1) he doesn't always look like that, and 2) even in that game he didn't really show the strength to set the edge in the run game. As you said, he's got a lot of potential, but you have to trust the guy if you're going to draft him based on what he could become. Johnson plays too soft and celebrates too many minor tackles for me to think he's going to develop into that player. But if we draft him, I'll certainly hope I'm wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballpeen Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 You just never know what you have.....you hope for another Ted Hendricks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YtownBrownsBacker Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 Just because reps of the Browns went to preview Georgia Tech's pro day means that we were even interested in Johnson. There's something about association that lends to doubt from the other teams. Also, I'm sure he wasn't the only player working out. There's a lot of homework to do to prepare for the draft and they need to evaluate everyone they can. They also need to look for late round finds and potential UDFA. Usually some small schools that don't have their own pro days have their guys go up to a bigger school so they can work out in front of the pros. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flugel Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 According to one report, the Browns sent scouts to Georgia Tech's pro day today specifically to check out Michael Johnson. Per the same report, the 6'7", 266 pound pass-rusher ran his 40 somewhere between 4.52 and 4.59 seconds and timed in at 7.31 seconds in the 3-cone. Johnson's a tremendous athlete and has drawn comparison to Mathias Kiwanuka. However, he's not a guy I'm particularly excited about. Though he put up 28 reps of 225 at the Combine, he doesn't look very strong on tape. Intelligence may also be an issue, as Johnson has a habit of making bad mistakes: in GTech's bowl game, he both jumped offside and drew a roughing the passer penalty. I'm a bit surprised that the Browns would be interested in him, but I guess Johnson's physical tools are too intriguing not to investigate, especially considering he could still be on the board at #36. Good stuff! THIS guy right here has a Gerrard Warren type of protypical for his specific position. The book cover looks great BUT buyer beware. Unfortunately, there's been alot rumors he also has Gerrard Warren's heart. That's alot of cholesterol after a signing bonus we don't need. Would it make sense to replace Wimbley with a player less interested? Wimbley's motor isn't his problem. I feel our coaches did a horrible job with a rookie talent that gave us 11 sacks. Nothing about that says bad prognosis. Chaun Thompson was ANOTHER guy we botched on. Here was a kid that was so gifted and athletic he even punted and place kicked for his college team. OF COURSE, he was going to require a little more pateince because of the layers of level he jumped from small school to Pros. That said, he's got EVERYTHING you look for in a workout to go coincide with his 255 pound frame and height. He ran 4.5s unless we were lied to and could bench 225 pounds about 26-30 times. When you're tossing guys like this into the NFL recycle bin as frequently as we did - your coaching wasn't what it needed to be. David McMillan was nnother alleged 4.5/4/6 guy we kept around for 3 years and didn't see growth from. I'm not sure ALL these cases were the player. Even the walkon from OSU that started some games as a rookie - no upside after that? ONE of these kids should have been able to develop to where we needed him. THIS time around, I hope Mangini has the coaches RAC lacked for these young players. Rick Lyle (a former undrafted but productive DE/pass rusher) has their butt in the off season strength and conditioning program while I LOVE seeing some of the names joinging our defensive staff. Bryan Cox was a GREAT player who brought alot of intensity so I'm sure we'll benefit from his wealth of experience and knowhow. - Tom F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aloysius Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 Just because reps of the Browns went to preview Georgia Tech's pro day means that we were even interested in Johnson. There's something about association that lends to doubt from the other teams. Also, I'm sure he wasn't the only player working out. There's a lot of homework to do to prepare for the draft and they need to evaluate everyone they can. That's a fair point. But the Browns subsequently set up a private workout/visit with Johnson, so the level of interest is somewhat higher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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