Dreams Realized: Gravity of NFL Draft call still sinking in for Cedric Johnson

Cedric Johnson found it nearly impossible to sit by the television for the entirety of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Even though the former Ole Miss edge rusher knew his name was going to be called eventually, he had to take some breaks.

Johnson, a Mobile, Alabama native, spent draft weekend in Destin, Florida with his family and girlfriend. Johnson’s representatives believed he had a chance to be drafted anywhere between the third and sixth rounds of the draft, which ran Thursday through Saturday. The first round took the entirety of the first day, the second and third rounds the second day and all the remaining rounds on the final day.

The 6-foot-3, 260-pounder started 29 games at Ole Miss over four seasons, notching 19 sacks and 22 tackles for loss. He had 5.5 sacks for the Rebels in 2023, which was tied for most on the team. Johnson was one of three Ole Miss players invited to the NFL Combine, joining teammates Deantre Prince and Daijahn Anthony. Johnson ran the seventh-fastest time in the 40-yard dash among edge rushers at the combine, ranked third in vertical jump and ninth in the broad jump. Johnson’s brother, Cephus Johnson III, is a wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The first two days of the draft came and went, though, and Johnson still found himself on the board. Day 3 of the draft was a seven-hour event.

“I’m walking around. I come down, sit down for 30 minutes, get a little impatient, walk down, put my feet in the sand, walk around for a minute, come back upstairs,” Johnson said. “Yeah, I’m moving all around, just trying to be as patient as possible, waiting for a phone call.”

Johnson was on the balcony of the Airbnb the family rented, just outside of the living room, when he got a call from a number and area code he didn’t recognize. It wound up being the Cincinnati Bengals, informing Johnson he was going to be drafted in the sixth round, 214th overall. The call lasted about 20 seconds, Johnson said, though he didn’t remember much of it initially. It was all a bit of a blur until he watched the footage back.

“I remember, I said, ‘Sounds lovely,’” Johnson said with a laugh.

For someone who started his youth football career as a running back before moving to tight end and eventually to the defensive front in high school, Saturday was truly a dream come true. The full gravity of the moment hasn’t hit Johnson yet.

Cedric Johnson has always stayed true to himself

OXFORD — When you do the sort of thing Cedric Johnson did in a game on Oct. 18, 2019 vs. Theodore High School, you’d expect a celebration. At least a fist pump or brief, jubilant scream.

“It happened, but I don’t think it’s really just sank in yet,” Johnson said. “Like, man, I really just got a call that I’ve been dreaming for my whole life … I’m just super happy, super grateful that I even get the opportunity.”

The Bengals showed “probably the most interest out of any team” throughout the pre-draft process, Johnson said. The franchise is coming off a 9-8 season despite being without star quarterback Joe Burrow for seven games. The team made the playoffs the previous two seasons, which included a Super Bowl berth in the 2021 campaign. Cincinnati ranked 21st in the NFL in points per game allowed last season (22.6).

The Bengals also drafted Anthony in the seventh round with the 224th pick; Johnson is thrilled to have “a familiar face with (him)” and to have “old teammates … becoming my new teammates.”

Johnson’s tenure at Ole Miss did not coincide with Burrow’s or star receiver Ja’Marr Chase’s record-setting national title season at LSU in 2019. While he hasn’t given it much thought yet, Johnson admits meeting players he’s watched on television is going to be a little surreal.

“It’s going to be a crazy moment. I’m like, ‘Whoa, this is the guy right here. This is the big-time guys.’ It’s going to be a crazy feeling,” Johnson said. “I’m just going to be ready to soak up all the knowledge I can from those kind of guys that I want to be in the league for a long time like, like those vets who are just playing at a high level, like a guy like Joe Burrow.”

Johnson will have a chip on his shoulder as a sixth-round pick. He’s quick to note, though, he would have had that chip regardless, even if he had been drafted higher. As far as what he will bring to the Bengals, Johnson kept it simple.

“I’m bringing speed, a lot of versatility with being able to play the outside linebacker position or the D-end position, and I’m bringing physicality,” he said. “Speed, strength, physicality and versatility.”