The Godfather Blesses Leonard Johnson
April 30th, 2012
A man rockstar general manager calls one of the great personnel men of all time, Gil Brandt, has weighed in with his top-10 undrafted free agents of 2012.
And the Bucs have one of them under contract, former Largo High star QB Leonard Johnson who turned into a cornerback at Iowa State.
Architect of the Cowboys teams from 1960 to 1989, Brandt, aka The Godfather, is now an NFL scouting guru for NFL.com and Sirius NFL Radio. (The guy’s a walking encyclopedia.) Brandt laid out his take on Johnson for NFL.com.
10. Leonard Johnson, CB, Iowa State — Johnson didn’t run well at the combine, but he ran extremely well at his pro day. He was a high school quarterback. When Iowa State stunned then-No. 2-ranked Oklahoma State in November, Johnson did a very good job defending Justin Blackmon (the first-round pick of the Jaguars). Johnson could be a great special teams player because of his toughness and probably is best suited for a team that runs a Cover-2 scheme.
“Toughness?” Again that word surfaces with another new member of the New Schiano World Order.
April 30th, 2012 at 10:02 pm
I remember that game! He shut Justin Blackmon down pretty much.
Coach Schiano is building a whole new identity for our team.
He demands players who will sell out for their team.
I have a funny feeling the team Tampa puts on the field this year will be far different from what we knew last year.
He seems to like tough, hard nosed players, who will knock the snot out of you.
April 30th, 2012 at 10:24 pm
Love to see this guy learn from Ronde and develop into something
Excited for he and Tandy. We are getting physical in our secondary. Something sorely missed round these parts since the Lynch era.
April 30th, 2012 at 11:01 pm
Really? Sure looks like Blackmon destroyed him. Made him look ridiculous several times.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLSX5dI5uhw
April 30th, 2012 at 11:03 pm
10 catches for 99 yards and TD isn’t what I’d call a “very good job defending”
April 30th, 2012 at 11:20 pm
@Jessup
stats don’t always tell the truth, he did a good job on him. I watched that game, never heard of that kid before. It’s not Iowa State had much of a pass rush. Maybe he contributes maybe he doesn’t, didn’t cost them a draft pick either way.
May 1st, 2012 at 12:07 am
destroyed him? I don’t think so. I’d get my eyes checked if I were you, he had perfect coverage on quite a few of those catches that Blackmon had. He did a great job in that game. The knock on him is that he didn’t play that well consistently in every game. With a good coach however, perhaps that can be corrected. Very intriguing prospect.
May 1st, 2012 at 1:35 am
So now we have 2 CB’s who were high school stud QB’s? That’s pretty cool. It means they have the mind set of what a QB’s thinking and how to attack it from their positions now on defense.
Could turn out well! Can’t wait to see them start working out!
May 1st, 2012 at 1:35 am
So now we have 2 CB’s who were high school stud QB’s? That’s pretty cool. It means they have the mind set of what a QB’s thinking and how to attack it from their positions now on defense.
Could turn out well! Can’t wait to see them start working out!
May 1st, 2012 at 6:25 am
I wouldn’t say that Johnson running 4.56 is a “very fast” pro day by any stretch of the imagination…of course after he ran a 4.71 at the combine, most times would be faster. Usually, the difference between the electronic time of the combine and handheld timer of the pro day is anywhere from .05 to .09 seconds. I’m sure some of the improvement was due to the time behind done handheld and perhaps some was that he actually ran a little better. One thing Johnson couldn’t overcome at this pro day, was his seriously short 28.5″ arms. This is a guy, no matter how good the tape was, has some serious limitations and I think at best he could be a nickel slot CB. He’s still got a speed deficiency and the arm length would preclude him from ever being left on an island outside (at least with a taller WR).
May 1st, 2012 at 6:52 am
Johnson may have some physical deficiencies, but even given those deficiencies, he covered Blackmon better than Biggers did against (fill in the blank) last year.
May 1st, 2012 at 7:13 am
Biggers has perfect coverage on guys all the time….but he has no ball skills and still allows the catch. Seen enough of that nonsense.
May 1st, 2012 at 8:07 am
patrickbucs Says: April 30th, 2012 at 11:20 pm
@Jessup
stats don’t always tell the truth…
.
I hate to break it to you but that’s what people say when a player isn’t much good. Stats NEVER lie. Period.
If you think I’m wrong, I challenge you or anyone else to prove it. When you look at every stat for a player a clear honest picture always develops.
That said, I’m not prejudging this kid or anyone new to the team, except to say he’s facing a challenge in earning a roster spot.
Most of these unFAs will be camp fodder. The idea is to bring in the most promissing and see if you strike gold or find a diamond in the rough.
As far as his short arms, if I recall he has a good jump to compensate?