'Freakish' Jermaine Johnson Continues Second-Year Surge in Primetime

The first-round edge rusher is thriving in an expanded role for New York, and he showed his brilliance again on Thursday Night Football

Even as disappointing as the New York Jets' season has been, there are silver linings. 

For one, defensive end Jermaine Johnson has looked like the first-round talent that the Jets spent the No. 26 overall pick on in 2022. After plenty of preseason hype, Johnson has elevated his game to a level on par with Pro Bowlers.

"Jermaine is playing at a Pro Bowl level. He’s disruptive. He changes games," said Jets' head coach Robert Saleh on Friday.

After totaling 29 tackles over 14 appearances as a limited role as a rookie, Johnson has started all 16 games thus far while playing 66 percent of the defense's snaps in 2023. 

"He gets after the quarterback. He’s awesome in the run game," said Saleh.

Johnson ranks second on team in sacks (6.5) and has delivered 15 quarterback hits. Even when unable to get home, the lengthy edge rusher clogs the passing lanes as evidenced by his seven pass deflections.

When it comes to the run, Johnson has made 40 stops on opposing ball carriers. On December 28 against Cleveland, he twice dropped the running back at the line of scrimmage and also recovered a fumble. The 6-foot-5 Johnson has totaled 4.0 tackles-for-loss while defending against the run this season.

While rushing Cleveland quarterback Joe Flacco, Johnson displayed incredible athleticism on the way to his first career pick six. The defensive end ran free into the backfield on a second-quarter 2nd-and-10 play, forcing Flacco to release the ball early. Johnson tipped the pass up into the air and snagged it before going 37 yards for a touchdown on Thursday Night Football.

"You got to be a freak to be able to do something like that. He’s got freakish athleticism, instincts. You got to be extremely instinctive," said Saleh one day following the 37-20 setback to Cleveland. "Freakish athletes make freakish plays, and then he’s definitely one of those."

That play can serve as a microcosm for Johnson's potential moving forward.

"He had an unbelievable offseason, put in a lot of work and it’s so cool just to watch a young man who put in the work that he needed to in the offseason to reap the rewards of his labor," said Saleh. "He’s doing a great job, grossly underrated in my opinion, but he’s going to be good for a long time."

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