Los Angeles Chargers select Boston College OG Zion Johnson with the 17th pick. Grade: A-
With the X pick in the 2022 NFL draft, the X select Boston College OG Zion Johnson.
GRADE: A-.
This doesn’t address the Chargers’ run defense issues, but good luck getting anything done on defense against a left side of Johnson and Rashawn Slater. In consecutive years, Los Angeles took the best tackle (Slater) and the best guard (Johnson) in their classes, and it’s tough to argue with that.
Height: 6’2 5/8″ (7th) Weight: 312 (53rd)
40-Yard Dash: 5.18 seconds (68th)
10-Yard Split: 1.75 seconds (72nd)
Bench Press: 32 reps (89th)
Vertical Jump: 32 inches (89th)
Broad Jump: 112 inches (91st)
3-Cone Drill: 7.38 seconds (92nd)
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.46 seconds (94th)
Wingspan: 82 3/8 inches (77th)
Arm Length: 34 inches (65th)
Hand Size: 10 5/8 inches (89th)
Bio: Johnson was a golf star at Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, and he didn’t try out for football until his junior year of high school. He started his senior season at right tackle, with 2021 Minnesota Vikings first-round pick Christian Darrisaw at left tackle. Still, Johnson’s lack of football experience rendered him a no-star recruit out of high school, and he started his next step at Davidson College, a private liberal arts school in North Carolina. Johnson got his big break in 2019, when former Davidson coach Phil Trautwein was hired at Boston College and gave Johnson a scholarship. He played left guard for the Eagles in 2019, moved to left tackle in 2020, and back to left guard in 2021. Johnson made First Team All-ACC in 2021, and participated in the 2022 Reese’s Senior Bowl.
Stat to Know: Johnson’s 2021 Blown Block rate of 0.3% was the lowest for any NCAA offensive lineman, regardless of position. Over three seasons at Boston College, he allowed just three sacks, nine quarterback hits, and 24 quarterback hurries on 1,074 pass-blocking snaps.
Strengths: Most of the pressures Johnson was involved in allowing were more about stunts and blitzes not picked up by one side of the line overall; you just don’t see him getting physically overwhelmed at all in the passing game. Even when defenders get through the line, as happened on this play against Clemson, Johnson had his guy all the way out of the formation.
On this run, watch him pass off the twist to either side, hit the second level, and take the poor defender right off the screen.
Actually, Johnson seems to have a preference for plays in which he can get to the second and third levels so he can chase defenders right out to the parking lot. It’s fun to watch!
Weaknesses: Johnson will occasionally allow pressure to the side, but it’s not something that shows up over and over — it’s just something to watch at the next level.
His deliberate reaction to stunts is a bigger issue. Johnson will need to identify defenders more quickly as they move late into his lens.
Conclusion: Given Johnson’s relative lack of experience at the left guard position, it’s pretty amazing how many of the nuances of the position he’s picked up. He’s scheme-transcendent, as he showed over three years when his college team moved from equal parts zone and gap blocking to 2021’s heavy zone approach, and there isn’t much you see on tape that you either don’t like, or can’t clean up pretty quickly with NFL-level coaching. He’s as plug-and-play as any IOL in this class, with tantalizing physical potential to hit the Pro Bowl level over time
NFL Comparison: Jahri Evans. Johnson profiles well as an in-line and pull/sweep blocker, but it’s his ability to get downfield and just nuke defenders in space that sets him apart and reminds me very much of Evans, who may have been the best move guard of his era. At Evans’ peak, he was an indispensable part of Sean Payton’s offenses with his ability to hit (and kill) the second and third levels of a defense, and I think that Johnson projects similarly with an outstanding combination of power and agility.
