2023 NFL Free Agency: Grading the Jaguars' Signing of D'Ernest Johnson

The Jaguars got better on offense on Wednesday, but how?

The Jacksonville Jaguars are on the board.

After sitting out the first wave of free-agency, the Jaguars finally made their March moves on Wednesday, adding three new free agents. 

To give an idea of what the new additions could mean for the Jaguars in 2023, the rest of the roster, and our ultimate grade, we are set to analyze each signing. First up: D'Ernest Johnson. 

A former undrafted free agent, Johnson ended his college career as South Florida's all-time leader in all-purpose yards with 4,186, including 1,796 career rushing yards. He scored 29 career touchdowns at USF, including 16 rushing, 12 receiving and one punt return.

Before signing with the Browns, Johnson starred in the former Alliance of American Football, finishing second in the league in rushing and scrimmage yards as an Orlando Apollo in 2019.

Johnson started two games in 2021 and for a career-high 146 rushing yards in his first career start vs. the Denver Broncos. It marked the third-most rushing yards by a player in his first career start over the last 30 seasons, trailing only Kareem Hunt (148) in 2017 and Cadillac Williams (148) in 2005.

In addition to averaging 5.2 yards per carry and recording three touchdowns and 967 yards from scrimmage with the Browns, Johnson also made an impact on special teams. He played over 140 special teams snaps in each of his four years with the Browns, including 200 snaps in 2022.

What Johnson's signing means for 2023

While it is smart to always invest in the running back position when it comes to finding young and talented runners, the Jaguars did seem to waste some resources last year when they traded up for fifth-round running back Snoop Conner. This wasn't entirely Conner's fault, as the Jaguars seemingly moved up for him without plans for him to ever play a role in the offense. 

As a result of Conner's forgettable rookie season, it was little surprise the Jaguars have looked into running backs in this year's draft class, with visits lined up with Auburn's Tank Bigsby, Tulane's Tyjae Spears and UAB's DeWayne McBride. With that said, adding a veteran back on a cheap deal was always better for the Jaguars in the short term than drafting another back to compete for backup snaps behind Travis Etienne. 

Thanks to the addition of Johnson, the Jaguars no longer have to use one of their picks to bolster the running back room and can instead use it to add depth to other positions such as edge rusher, tight end, guard, tackle, safety, or cornerback.

Who is impacted the most?

Snoop Conner, without question. Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said at the NFL Scouting Combine that the Jaguars are still high on Conner after not seeing much of him on the field last year, but it is hard to see Conner overtaking Johnson on the depth chart considering what Johnson showed with the Browns.

Conner played sparingly as a rookie, rushing the ball just 12 times for 42 yards and a touchdown while playing only 38 offensive snaps all year. With Conner playing zero special teams snaps, Johnson has the edge over him if the Jaguars need to debate whether to keep three or four running backs.

Where does Johnson fall on the depth chart?

This is a tough one. We know the Jaguars will lean on Travis Etienne as their starting running back after his extremely productive 2022. They expect him to be even better in 2023, too. 

“I think the biggest thing for me was I loved his toughness, his physicality. He’s not a big guy, but he’s very physical when he runs. He can be elusive. He’s got good speed, and he’s just going to get better as a runner," Pederson said at the combine.

"When he gets a chance to go back and watch what he did last year in our system, there’s going to be times where he’s going to go, ‘Agh, I should’ve hit it here.’ That’s the growth mentality that he’ll have. Just excited for him, get him back in our system again, second year, to watch the growth in him and really how he bounced back from that injury in year one in the foot to really be a really good impact player for us on offense.”

In short, Pederson thinks Etienne played well and can, and should, play even better. He will get the lion's share of the work as long as he is healthy.

This opens up the No. 2 and No. 3 running back spots. JaMycal Hasty worked his way to the No. 2 spot following James Robinson's trade last year and the Jaguars staff frequently applauded him for his work-ethic and understanding of the system. Hasty proved himself as a passing down player, too, so he will be a tough player for Johnson to immediately skip on the depth chart.

Grade: A

Johnson is a stellar signing for the Jaguars. He has proven he can be a top-notch special teams player and is one of the better backup running backs in the NFL considering what he showed when the Browns had injuries in 2021. This was a smart signing by a team that needed to find a way to get better at a cheap cost.