Washington Redskins UDFA profile - Danny Johnson, CB/KR, Southern U

The self-titled “Louisiana Pimp Dog” is a four-year starter and boundary cornerback whose ball skills and instincts helped him thrive against less talented opponents. Johnson is a tough evaluation because his ball skills are so tempting, but he lacks classic click-and-close man cover traits and he may not be a clean fit as a slot cornerback. Johnson does fit off-man or zone heavy defenses, but he’ll need to become a much more willing participant in run support if he wants to find playing time.

— Lance Zurlein, NFL.com analyst

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Johnson isn’t just a fast sprinter as he led the FCS in interceptions in 2016 with seven despite missing three games. That worked out as him recording an interception in every game he played in except for one. Scouts have favorably compared Johnson to other small-school cornerbacks like the Falcons’ Robert Alford and the Jets’ Buster Skrine. They think that Johnson is a tough defender and built to be a nickelback, and will have to compete as a slot corner to make an NFL roster.

— WalterFootball

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Already a Redskin

Southern University’s Danny Johnson was not taken in the 2018 NFL draft, but the former Jaguar defensive back will still get a chance to live his dream. He was a participant at the Washington Redskins rookie minicamp May 11 through May 13 wearing a burgundy #20 practice jersey.

Johnson, should have felt at home at the minicamp; he joined fellow Louisiana native Derrius Guice, the running back from LSU who was taken by the Redskins in the second round.

Measurables

Here’s the film study from our very own Gibbs4potus:

Defensive and special teams skill sets

Danny Johnson reminds me some of a smaller Josh Jackson type of Cornerback. He has great ball skills and plays the ball like a wide receiver when it is in the air (Click here for video - jump to 00:50). He was a four year starter at Southern University.

Johnson’s playmaking skills are also excellent when he gets the ball in his hands. He looks great on punt returns and averaged 17 yards per return in 2017. Johnson returned kickoffs for all four years.

Johnson also is similar to Jackson in that he has a poor backpedal. His knees push out to the sidekick to give him an almost bow legged look. Johnson straightened it up a little for the combine but was very slow with the backpedal.

Here is the play Johnson made to save the game vs South Carolina St:

Limited film available

There was only one cutup available for Johnson. He has a few highlight reels but they only show the good plays, of course. In reading up on Johnson, scouts have said that he is soft vs the run. I couldn’t verify that because there were few run plays in his cutup.

I don’t like to just rely on a quote from an anonymous scout so I went searching for more cutups of Johnson. I found a cutup of Martez Carter from 2016 vs Southern. Johnson only made one tackle of Carter about 15-20 yards downfield.

Johnson also ran Carter down from behind another time but made the tackle after Carter crossed the goal line. Johnson didn’t appear to mix it up s the run but he didn’t give up either.

How does he fit with the Redskins?

Johnson is a small CB but he has a very thick and muscular frame. I think he will compete for the slot CB role and as a punt/kick returner.

Johnson has an outside shot of making the team if he can play well on special teams. He has a much better chance of being offered a spot on the 10 player practice squad.

Washington Redskins Cornerback depth

Returning players from 2017 Redskins roster

• Josh Norman
• Quinton Dunbar
• Fabian Moreau
• Joshua Holsey

Veteran free agent acquired this off season

• Orlando Scandrick

Draft pick

• Greg Stroman

UDFAs

• Ranthony Texada

Here are some Tweets from Danny Johnson’s Twitter feed: