The Los Angeles Rams secondary has garnered a lot of attention over the last two offseasons. Between the acquisitions of Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib, the signing of Eric Weddle and the selection of both Taylor Rapp and David Long, there are a lot of eyes watching the Rams’ defensive backfield.
Only two starters in the secondary have remained since 2017: John Johnson and Nickell Robey-Coleman. Both players fly somewhat under the radar, but Johnson is overlooked nationally. That should change in 2019 as he’s poised to break out in a big way.
Johnson had a great 2018 season and helped send the Rams to the Super Bowl with an interception in overtime against the Saints in the NFC championship. He was outstanding in coverage, making acrobatic interceptions like this one.
One area where he’s truly one of the best safeties in the league is in run support. Last season, he was third among all players at his position with 19 run stops, according to Pro Football Focus.
He really stodd out at the end of the season, posting the highest tackling grade of any safety from Week 13-17.
What works against Johnson is his lack of exposure. He was PFF’s No. 7 safety in the NFL last season, and was only one of three players in the NFL to post at least 100 tackles and pick off four passes. The others were Shawn Williams and Jordan Poyer.
Yet, despite putting up unmatched numbers, he still missed out on the Pro Bowl. The guys who were selected ahead of him on the NFC squad were Eddie Jackson, Harrison Smith, Landon Collins and Malcolm Jenkins. It’s hard to argue against any of those players as Pro Bowlers, but Collins was inconsistent last season and isn’t the all-around playmaker that Johnson is. Jenkins has been a stud safety for a long time, but he had just one interception and 97 tackles in 2018 and was PFF’s No. 16 safety.
Johnson has the skill set and talent to be a Pro Bowler, it’s just a matter of winning over fans and earning some additional recognition nationally. That should come in 2019 when he’ll be playing alongside a stud like Eric Weddle and hopefully better cornerback play now that Talib is healthy and Peters is more comfortable in the Rams’ defense.
