Zion Johnson Could Compete for a Starting Spot at Guard for the Commanders

Zion Johnson, OG

School: Boston College | Conference: ACC

College Experience: Senior | Age: 22

Height / Weight: 6’3” / 312 lbs

Projected Draft Status: Late 1st – 2nd

Player Comparison: Laken Tomlinson

Player Overview

After graduating from Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Zion Johnson attended Davidson College hoping to be an engineer. Although he played golf the majority of his upbringing, he excelled playing football at Davidson College and eventually transferred to Boston College. He continued an elite level of play once at BC. In each of his three years there, he was named all-ACC. Johnson was also chosen by his teammates to be a captain for the 2021 season.

Strengths

· Solid anchor and consistently plays with good pad level

· Strong, sustains blocks, and is rarely beaten if he engages

· Has a tendency to look for work

· Experience at left tackle

Weaknesses

· Sometimes is a little slow out of his stance

· Can improve his blocking in space

· Heavy feet

· Only played on left side of the line

Let’s see his work

How He Fits On The Team

Zion Johnson has the size, strength, and technique to be a very good guard in the NFL. If there is an area I’d like to see him improve, it’s his ability to locate and block targets at the second level. Even without doing that, he appears to be a plug-and-play guard. While his experience has come on the left side of the line, I don’t think switching sides will be difficult for him given his ability to make the leap from Davidson to Boston College.

Brandon Schreff is on his way to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Washington also cut Ereck Flowers and quickly replaced him with Andrew Norwell for half the price. The team has Wes Schweitzer who was a versatile backup last year, and they might want to keep him in that role if they can find a starter in the draft. It would demand a pretty high pick, but Johnson is definitely a candidate in the draft that could fill that spot. His strength makes him an ideal player in Scott Turner’s power running scheme and he has enough movement ability for inside zone blocking.