Penn State has sent no shortage of tight end prospects to the NFL in recent years, and this year’s NFL Draft is no different, as former Nittany Lion Theo Johnson was officially selected by the New York Giants with pick No. 107.
Johnson became thefifth Nittany Lion selected in this year’s draft. On Thursday, Penn State saw two players selected in the first-round in offensive tackle Olu Fashanu, who went 11th overall to the New York Jets, and edge rusher Chop Robinson go to the Miami Dolphins at pick No. 21. That was followed by offensive tackle Caedan Wallace and Adisa Issac both being selected on Friday.
Leadup to the Draft
You won’t find many players who helped their stock more than Johnson at this year’s NFL Combine. While he did have career-highs in receptions, yards and touchdowns this past season at Penn State, he still split much of his time with then junior Tyler Warren, limiting his overall impact compared to some others in this class.
But once Johnson got the opportunity to show what he could do at the combine, he took full advantage, turning in impressive testing numbers, including a 4.57-second 40-yard dash and a 39.5-inch vertical jump. Remember, he weighs 261 pounds.
But in addition to his NFL Combine performance, Johnson also had a strong showing at the Senior Bowl.
Link: Former Penn State players listed as Day 1 ‘steals’ in NFL Draft
“You look at the traits, and you see a good-looking athlete with size who’s smooth in his routes, smooth at the catch point, has acceleration to get down the seam and run away from coverage,” said The Athletic’s Dane Brugler in an interview with PennLive. “He has a decent catch radius, catches the ball well in stride, has no problem climbing the ladder and can adjust to inaccurate passes.”
Johnson came to Penn State as a highly recruited prospect, earning a consensus four-star rating at each of the major sites. Hailing from Windsor, Ontario, Johnson chose the Nittany Lions over Georgia, Iowa and Michigan at the time and went on to have a solid career at Penn State.
However, with players like Brenton Strange and Warren also deserving playing time, he never fully grasped the spotlight when compared to such predecessors as Pat Freiermuth and Mike Gesicki, both of whom are now in the NFL.
But just like we saw with Strange during his rookie season, Johnson has the ability to flourish if given the right opportunity.
“Johnson’s explosive tools make him an alluring option as a pass-catching tight end with the speed and quickness to attack the seams,” NFL.com draft analyst Bucky Brooks wrote. “Though his production at Penn State didn’t jump off the page, he could become a playmaker at the next level.”
NFL Combine Measurables
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