WATCH: No. 1 Overall Pick Bryce Young Laid Out By Jermaine Johnson During Preseason Debut

Johnson put a couple of massive hits on a pair of Carolina Panthers quarterbacks.

The majority of NFL teams made their preseason debuts over the weekend. That allowed fans to get their first looks at a couple of rookies who enter the league with big expectations on their shoulders, including No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young.

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Saturday afternoon didn't go as the former Alabama star was hoping as the Carolina Panthers lost 27-0 to the New York Jets. Young only played in three drives, leading the Panthers to just one first down while completing 4/6 passes for 21 yards.

Despite his relatively short amount of time on the field, Young felt the heat from the Jets' defense. He was sacked once and hit numerous times in his 11 offensive plays. A fair amount of that punishment came at the hands of former Florida State star and second-year New York defensive end Jermaine Johnson II.

In the first quarter, Johnson came off the edge and stunted inside before laying a big hit on Young right after he released the ball. The pressure forced an incompletion on a drive that ended in a punt.

It didn't take much longer for Johnson to bring down another Panthers' quarterback. Later in the first half, second-year signal-caller Matt Corral was inserted into the lineup for Young. Johnson easily won his matchup against the right tackle with a mix of a bull rush and spin move to get to Corral before he could release the ball.

Interestingly enough, Johnson was joined in the stop by defensive lineman Bryce Huff, who was coached by Mike Norvell at Memphis.

Bryce Young already took a couple of big hits in this game, bounced right back up.

Jermaine Johnson put a pretty big one here on himpic.twitter.com/NwFGYrCrbKhttps://t.co/Cq2ILbEImA

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 12, 2023

A ridiculous rush from Jermaine Johnson. My lord. Has been on a tear both in camp & preseason. What a second-year jump he appears to have taken.

Johnson has 3 tackles, a sack & 2 QB hits in just 12 (!!) snaps. His average get-off down to 0.70 sec. #Jets
pic.twitter.com/Yft8gGlcFg

— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) August 12, 2023

The 2022 First-Round pick is coming off a rookie season where he totaled 29 tackles, three tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and one safety in 14 appearances. Johnson is expected to play an even bigger role during his second year with the franchise.

Johnson spent his final season at the college level at Florida State after also playing at Georgia and Independence Community College. He developed into an instrumental defensive star for the Seminoles, earning First-Team All-American Honors after recording 70 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and one defensive touchdown in 2021. Johnson was also named First-Team All-ACC and the conference's Defensive Player of the Year.

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