Prospect Breakdown: Paris Johnson Jr., OT, Ohio State

Kicking off the weekly Prospect Breakdown series with an in-depth look at Paris Johnson Jr., one of the top offensive tackle prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft class.

The 2022 NFL Draft featured various gifted offensive tackles, three of whom heard their name called in the first ten selections of the first round. This year’s tackle class is not as heralded as that of last year. That said, the competition for the top player at the position is a heated one between various potential first-round talents. From that group, Ohio State’s Paris Johnson Jr. seems to be at or near the top of the consensus positional rankings.

An exciting prospect with NFL size at a school-listed 6060 and 315 pounds, the Ohio native is completely inexperienced at tackle as a Buckeye. Still, he was an elite tackle recruit who built his name for three years at St. Xavier before transferring to Princeton High School, both in Cincinnati, Ohio. During his high school career, Johnson was a two-time USA Today All-American and a two-time MaxPreps High School All-American. He was twice named OHSAA First-Team All-Ohio and received All-Conference once in the Greater Miami Conference and once in the Greater Catholic League. In his first and only season at Princeton, Johnson was selected as the team’s offensive MVP. He received an ambassador invitation to the Polynesian Bowl and participated in the 2020 All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. His elite play and numerous achievements earned him a five-star rating across major recruiting platforms. 247Sports Composite Rankings listed him as the ninth-best recruit in the nation, the class’s top offensive tackle, and Ohio’s best high school senior. 247Sports, itself, was slightly higher on Johnson. The outlet ranked him eighth in the class while maintaining that he was the best Ohio native and offensive tackle in the 2020 recruiting class. 

For all of Johnson’s incredible work on the field, he is a gifted and outstanding individual off the gridiron. He accumulated substantial volunteer experience over the course of his high school career and served as a student ambassador at St. Xavier. Additionally, he worked at various football camps during high school. Further, he started a foundation geared toward helping veterans and disadvantaged youth during his high school tenure. He speaks Chinese and is learning Portuguese. Johnson is also a standout in the classroom. He earned academic high honors every year of his high school career and was a member of the National Honors Society and the Chinese International Honor Society. A journalism major at Ohio State, Johnson has written multiple published articles as a credentialed media member at several Buckeyes' sporting events, including some on the football program, for the school’s newspaper, The Lantern. Johnson earned OSU Scholar-Athlete status in both the 2020-2021 and the 2021-2022 academic years.

Finding the field early at Ohio State is no easy feat. The team is perennially loaded with NFL talent. All the same, Johnson’s coaches have gone out of their way to call him the “father” of the offensive line group because his teammates tend to gravitate toward him. In 2020, the then-true freshman played in five games - including the College Football Playoff National Championship against Alabama - working primarily at guard. In 2021, Johnson worked his way into the Buckeyes’ starting lineup and was a steady force at right guard. In 2022, the high school tackle will move back to his natural position to replace a fellow former five-star recruit and fellow premier tackle in his recruiting class, 2022 third-round pick (69th overall to the Tennessee Titans) Nicholas Petit-Frere.

Paris Johnson Jr. (77) established himself as one of the 2023 NFL Draft's premier linemen in 2021. 

Beyond his notable off-field accomplishments and his clear NFL size, Ohio State’s new left tackle is rightfully seen as a potential top prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft class. He will likely enter the draft with experience at guard and tackle and the athleticism to operate and excel at both in the league. His versatility to fill multiple roster spots will be seen as a true asset in the NFL.

In addition to his what should be extensive experience across the offensive line at Ohio State, the Cincinnati native is a stellar athlete with very few limitations. Johnson has easy, natural power to anchor. His balance, coordination, and flexible knees, hips, and ankles help him withstand opponents - even through contact to his frame - and generate power from the ground up. What’s more, he is an impressive linear and lateral mover who can and should be used creatively by offensive coordinators to climb, reach, pull, scoop, get to space on screens, and more. He has the loose hips to hinge and find his assignment both in traffic and on an island. Once in the open field or at the second level, he is remarkably efficient and effective engaging with quick defenders. In-line, he has above-average change of direction ability in his sets and can mirror opponents both before and during contact. His burst and fluidity enable him to recover should defenders gain a step on him early. Once Johnson manages to latch onto an opponent, he has great grip and core strength to lock them down. The Buckeyes’ star has a knack for using defenders’ momentum against them to maintain his blocks. Johnson has more than enough length to operate at tackle and typically wins once he gets his opponent at extension. He plays with a finishing mentality and the high motor to drive his legs and work his hands through the whistle.

Above all else, the athletic tackle’s proven capacity for growth from game to game is perhaps his most impressive and enticing trait. After an analysis of six games from the 2021 season, his worst performance that year came in week two against Oregon. Against the Ducks, Johnson's poor technique overshadowed his excellent athleticism; however, he barely made a mistake through the other five contests and showed outstanding technical improvement throughout his game every week. He began winning leverage with his hands and keeping a wider and more active base through engagement. He was, further, increasingly aware of stunts and delayed blitzers. Simply put, Johnson’s film is stellar when his technique is sound. His ability to learn on the go is crucial to his draft profile, as he will be playing a new position in his first draft-eligible season.

Despite his various strengths, Ohio State’s new blindside protector must work through certain questions that loom over his draft profile. First and foremost, he cannot be fully evaluated as a tackle until he has accumulated experience at the position as a Buckeye. Though his traits suggest he can transition cleanly to the outside, projecting a career guard to one of the most challenging positions in football is an uneasy process.

Moreover, the Princeton product’s film in early 2021 was flawed. Against Oregon, Johnson struggled with resting hand position, hand placement, and punch timing. Consequently, he failed to use his length properly and surrendered his chest. His feet went stagnant and narrowed and he was caught off-guard by stunts. Defenders were, then, able to put him off-balance. While he refined these aspects of his game with each passing week, they will still be exploited by NFL athletes without further improvement.

At the end of the 2021 season, Johnson’s most troubling traits were his hand timing, his angles, and his weight distribution. The talented lineman is too often late with his hands which gives opponents a clear path to his frame. From there, they long-arm or control him. Additionally, Johnson tends to chase defenders instead of cutting them off. His improper aim can lead him to struggle in initiating and sustaining blocks. Opposing players redirect him if his angles are too aggressive. He also oversets against speed rushers at times and fails to recover. Finally, Johnson tends to lunge and lean into contact as a means of simultaneously dropping his pads and increasing his functional power. That said, he is flexible enough to sit in the chair at engagement and must learn to do so. At the moment, he ducks his head and shoulders into contact which effectively leaves him blind. In doing so, he offers opponents his chest and can whiff or be redirected. College athletes have proven they can take advantage of these technical issues; NFL athletes will do so more regularly and with more decisive results.

Offensive tackle is seen as a premium position in football. As such, NFL teams are willing to take promising tackles early in the draft. Paris Johnson Jr. is not without fault as a prospect. His technique is a work in progress and will allow professional athletes to beat him early in his career. Most concerningly, he has not yet played meaningful snaps at his projected NFL position. Nonetheless, he will enter the 2022 season as a possible first-round selection and contender for the top tackle spot in the 2023 NFL Draft class. Johnson is an excellent, well-rounded athlete who boasts impressive power and movement skills - even for NFL standards. He is extremely effective engaging in space and has scheme-versatile potential at four of the five offensive line positions. Most importantly, Johnson’s rate of improvement from game to game is a truly special trait. He was a different player in week two against Oregon than he was against Rutgers just three weeks later. He continually grew from game to game throughout 2021. Johnson may have a rough start to his 2022 season in a new role with new responsibilities. All the same, his work ethic and ability to learn on the go give him the chance to quickly become a high-level tackle before the end of the year. He needs to continue honing his technique and, specifically, improving his angles and weight distribution. Though he already looks like a low-level starter at guard or even tackle in the league, the Ohio State lineman has proven he has the ability to take his game to a new level by January of 2023. Paris Johnson Jr. has the athletic tools, intelligence, and mindset to be an elite player in the NFL.

Grade (Floor / Ceiling): Low-Level Starter at Guard or Tackle / Elite, Positionally-Versatile Offensive Lineman

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