Getty Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson is sick and tired of being disrespected in the NFL rankings.
Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson is arguably the best right tackle in football. He might be the best tackle period, left or right, in the NFL.
Johnson hasn’t given up a single sack since Week 11 of the 2020 season. Think about it. Let it rattle around your brain. It’s an insane stat to process. The 33-year-old admitted he came close to giving one up last season in Week 9 (November 3), narrowly wrangling Houston Texans defensive end Jerry Hughes and pushing him away at the last minute.
“Other than that, I’ve been pretty sound,” Johnson said on the Richard Sherman podcast.
Lane Johnson — since turning 30
– 1 sack allowed
– 3 QB hits allowed
– 20 pressures allowed
– 1.7% pressure rate per dropback
Sometimes even the great ones need luck, right? Johnson is squarely in the great category, a guy who could be fitted for a Gold Jacket in Canton when he finally hangs his cleats up. For now, he’s gearing up for his 11th NFL season. It’s full steam ahead behind franchise quarterback Jalen Hurts.
“He’s a guy who doesn’t say a whole lot but when he does, he usually has a lot of substance to it, a lot of wisdom to it,” Johnson said of Hurts. “I feel like every situation he’s been able to overcome … I just feel like he’s very mature for how young he is and how he handles everything. A lot of guys can rah-rah and do all this, but he does a lot with his body language and how he works.”
Most Feared Pass Rushers in NFL
Pass rushers have come and gone during Johnson’s storied career. He’s been tasked with blocking future Hall of Famers, along with Eagles legends like Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox every day in practice.
“They’re Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy in Life. They are stuck in that thing,” Johnson told the Richard Sherman podcast. “BG is funny, Fletch is funny, I feel like the older we get, the shorter our fuse is. It’s like having a family dog. He might be nice when he’s young but when he gets old or as he’s gotten older, he’s got more feisty to him.”
.@LaneJohnson65 tells @RSherman_25 about the hardest pass rushers to defend in the NFL
Jokes aside, Johnson did want to draw from his vast memory bank and throw out the names of the most feared pass rushers he’s faced. His list included Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby, T.J. Watt, Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, plus one surprise retired player … Olivier Vernon.
“Olivier Vernon might have been the hardest player for a lot of guys to block,” Johnson told Sherman. “Yeah, just a weird-built dude. He’s 6-1, 6-2, wears like a size 17, 18 shoe, just a weird built almost like, you remember how Elvis Dumervil was so special because he was like 5-11, 6-foot but he had 33, 34-inch arms so as he got that leverage under you he’d just forklift you and do whatever he wanted to with you.”
Vernon hasn’t taken a snap since the 2020 season after racking up 63.5 sacks in 9 NFL seasons, including three of them with the New York Giants. The one-time Pro Bowler is technically not retired.
Looking at Retirement After 2026 Season
Johnson caused a bit of a stir back in June when he told reporters he was looking to retire after the 2026 season. He’ll be 37 years old once the ink dries on his current contract, one that stands to be his final payday.
“Yea, hopefully … 37, that would be pretty old,” Johnson said, via Philly Sports Network. “Then again, JP [Jason Peters] is 41 so always chasing. But, I’m super fortunate to be where I’m at. And, like I said, to be in the second half of my career my goal now is to develop the younger guys and bring those guys along in the O-line room and be a better leader.”