An ex-first-round pick for the New York Jets is ready to make a quantum leap in 2023.
Defensive lineman Jermaine Johnson posed for the cameras during an organized training activity. In the photos, Johnson showed off an impressive physique.
WOAH MAMA: #Jets DL Jermaine Johnson (@ii_jermaine) is looking RIPPED at OTAs 🔥 💪🏽 📸 @nyjets #TakeFlight
Gang Green listed the former Florida State product at 262 pounds, but this new gun show suggests he added some bulk this offseason.
Social Media Reacts to Jets DL Jermaine Johnson’s New Look
The Everything NYJ Podcast account said, “YOLKED!!!!!”
One Twitter user is hoping that JJ gets more snaps in 2023.
@BoyGreen25 @ii_jermaine @nyjets More snaps for him I hope
The former No. 26 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft only appeared in 312 defensive snaps last season. That number translated to 34 percent of the snaps.
Johnson nearly played as much on special teams (29 percent) last year that he did on defense.
With all due respect, the Jets didn’t invest a first-round draft choice for a pillar on special teams, they did it so they could potentially have a foundational piece on the defensive side of the ball.
@BoyGreen25 @ii_jermaine @nyjets That’s good. I hope he’s still fast and quick.
One Twitter user said “That’s good” in reference to the physique but said, “I hope he’s still fast and quick.”
That is always a legitimate concern when players add more brutus beefcake to their frame. While muscle looks good on the beach if you add too much it can affect some of your other attributes like speed.
Johnson ran a 4.58 40-yard dash at the NFL combine. Nothing is more important than a pass rusher’s get-off.
So it can be a very fine line between adding as much muscle to your frame as possible while also maintaining your speed and quickness.
Jermaine Johnson Ready to Breakout With Jets in 2023
The Jets as a team had 45 sacks during the 2022 season which was the No. 7 best mark in the NFL.
Johnson only contributed 2.5 sacks to that total during his rookie campaign.
Justin Melo of The Draft Network believes JJ could be the key to “unlocking improvement” in that category next season. He even went as far as to say that Johnson “appears poised for a breakout.”
While Johnson’s numbers were relatively marginal in his first campaign there were some signs that the arrow was pointing in the right direction at the end of the season.
“Johnson played his best football toward the conclusion of his rookie campaign—seven of Johnson’s 14 quarterback pressures occurred throughout the Jets’ final three contests. Johnson’s strong finish sets him up nicely for year two,” Justin Melo explained in a column posted on Monday, June 5. “Johnson was efficient despite seeing just 151 pass-rushing snaps—he never played more than 50% of the Jets’ snaps in a single game, and even that happened just once, in Week 17.”
The belief is Johnson is due for an uptick in playing time. While the EDGE room is still loaded, Johnson had the equivalent of a redshirt year in 2022. By default, Johnson is likely going to be ahead of players like Will McDonald who could also be brought along slowly in his first season.
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