Denver Broncos got a day three steal in Jamar Johnson

Anytime you can come away from the third day of the NFL Draft getting a player most people thought was going on day two, you’re going to be thrilled. The Denver Broncos managed to get an absolute gem in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft when Indiana safety Jamar Johnson fell into their laps.

Johnson was a 2nd-team All-Big Ten selection in 2020 for Indiana, his lone year as a full-time starter. Although 2020 was Johnson’s only year as a full-time starter for the Hoosiers, he still managed to rack up 25 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, a forced fumble,  two interceptions, and four passes broken up the year before.

Productivity per snap is one of the reasons Johnson was such a fascinating pick for the Denver Broncos, especially when it comes to his coverage abilities.

Working on that statistic alone, seven interceptions on 44 targets into Johnson’s coverage means that if a quarterback threw the ball at him, it was going to be picked off every six or seven times.

You’ll take that kind of ball production from a safety/nickel hybrid.

Johnson’s ability to play multiple positions in the Indiana defense will be an asset as he moves forward to the NFL, but playing in Vic Fangio’s two-high shell defense will benefit him even more.

With Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson the veterans atop the Denver Broncos depth chart, Johnson may not get his shot to play significant snaps right away. When Simmons entered the league in 2016, he joined a secondary that included Super Bowl 50 stars TJ Ward and Darian Stewart. Simmons was a possible heir apparent.

He’s quickly developed into a star in Denver, and Johnson has that same ability.

Even though the Denver Broncos drafted another safety in Texas’ Caden Sterns about a dozen picks before Johnson, it’s hard not to be impressed with the way Johnson plays especially as a hybrid type of defender.

Although he’s not spectacular athletically and he’s built with pretty average size, Johnson’s ability to play the high safety position as well as come down and be effective as a blitzer make him a true day three Draft gem for Vic Fangio and Denver Broncos GM George Paton.

Tackling was an issue for Johnson at Indiana in terms of technique and having too many missed tackles, but there are times you watch Johnson attack as a blitzer and wonder how that was ever a problem at all.

If you read any scouting notes on Johnson, the only on-field issues that come up are the tackling inconsistencies as well as, at times, over-aggressiveness. We might gain a little insight into why so many felt like this guy was at a minimum a third-round player on tape fell to the fifth round when looking into some other discipline issues, like getting ejected from a game in 2020 (throwing a punch) and being charged with a misdemeanor in 2018 for fleeing police who apparently smelled marijuana on him.

If it was those issues that caused teams to question a higher investment in Johnson, it’s still very likely the Denver Broncos got a crazy value here. Johnson’s ability to attack the football with so many impact plays is quite rare.

• 7 interceptions
• 2 forced fumbles
• 8 tackles for loss
• 4 sacks
• 14 passes broken up

That is often the kind of production you will see from guys who played four years and started the majority of their time in college. For Johnson to do this with just one full year as a starter on the Indiana defense is outstanding.

And great for the Denver Broncos.