If Dennis Johnson had stayed in school: What round would he go this year?

[Lomax to Green 84]

Many on this board commented last year that drafting Dennis Johnson in the 3rd round was more of an investment in the future (possibly 2003) than the present 2002. Johnson was a guy who needed a full year of NFL caliber weight training so that he could get in the necessary shape to make more of an impact.

If Dennis Johnson had stayed in school for his senior year, where do you think he would be drafted in this draft? I guess what I am getting at is that maybe we have our speed rusher in Johnson. Here is a guy who led the SEC in sacks as a junior playing on a very average defense and a team that often played from behind. Sure he played with DeWayne Robertson, but check Robertsons stats from 2001-he had a very disappointing 2001 season due to injuries (knee, ankle, etc...).

I think the Cards need to seriously look at giving Johnson the first crack as our speed rusher if we don't get a shot at Suggs. He showed some flashes last year and Johnson seems to me to be a "flow" type of guy (someone who needs multiple reps to get into the flow of the game) instead of just a situational guy

 

[Jim O]

There were two players that caught my eye down the stretch last season. Dennis Johnson and Marcus Bell. They really stood out in the San Francisco game as each of them knocked down Jeff Garcia a handful of times and pressured him into incompletions. Bell also sacked Garcia once. Hopefully they can progress this offseason.

 

[EndZone]

Can you imagine what his stats would have been like next to a healthy Duane Robertson? WOW!

 

[Russ Smith]

Originally posted by Holian
Many on this board commented last year that drafting Dennis Johnson in the 3rd round was more of an investment in the future (possibly 2003) than the present 2002. Johnson was a guy who needed a full year of NFL caliber weight training so that he could get in the necessary shape to make more of an impact.

If Dennis Johnson had stayed in school for his senior year, where do you think he would be drafted in this draft? I guess what I am getting at is that maybe we have our speed rusher in Johnson. Here is a guy who led the SEC in sacks as a junior playing on a very average defense and a team that often played from behind. Sure he played with DeWayne Robertson, but check Robertsons stats from 2001-he had a very disappointing 2001 season due to injuries (knee, ankle, etc...).

I think the Cards need to seriously look at giving Johnson the first crack as our speed rusher if we don't get a shot at Suggs. He showed some flashes last year and Johnson seems to me to be a "flow" type of guy (someone who needs multiple reps to get into the flow of the game) instead of just a situational guy

Hey we agree on something I was saying that a month ago, Johnson may have been rated higher than Suggs if he'd stayed in school(he was his junior year and Suggs soph year). Based on the year Suggs had he's probably still rated ahead of Johnson but by how much is not clear.

Johnson has clear NFL talent the problem is he has to get stronger and he has to REALIZE that he needs this. I was reading up on him last month and you can go back to his freshman year at UK they were saying he has all the talent but needs to get stronger he can't just out talent guys here like he did in HS. Well that does concern me that after 3 years at UK he still has the same basic hole in his game.

Hopefully he and Bryant spend this offseason getting stronger.

 

[Lomax to Green 84]

I pulled out the 2002 Draft that I had taped and viewed some clips of Dennis Johnson. The play against LSU when he blew past the left tackle and literally tacked the running back as he was receiving the ball from the quarterback was one of those "wow" kind of plays. His burst in to the backfield on that play was one of those that makes a fan very excited that we have something in Johnson.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Re: Re: If Dennis Johnson had stayed in school: What round would he go this year?

Originally posted by Russ Smith
Hey we agree on something I was saying that a month ago, Johnson may have been rated higher than Suggs if he'd stayed in school(he was his junior year and Suggs soph year). Based on the year Suggs had he's probably still rated ahead of Johnson but by how much is not clear.

Johnson has clear NFL talent the problem is he has to get stronger and he has to REALIZE that he needs this. I was reading up on him last month and you can go back to his freshman year at UK they were saying he has all the talent but needs to get stronger he can't just out talent guys here like he did in HS. Well that does concern me that after 3 years at UK he still has the same basic hole in his game.

Hopefully he and Bryant spend this offseason getting stronger.

One of the problems with him getting stronger at Kentucky, was that he was injured all the time, and missed games because of his injuries. His only full season was his junior year.

 

[BACH]

The War Room had Johnson as a 1st rounder last year, because he had the biggest upside and would without doubt be the 2nd best DE in the class (after Peppers) if he could continue his development and add more bulk.

His rating was 8.1. on a 9-scale.

This year's rating are:
1. Suggs - 8.8
2. McDougal - 8.2
3. Kelsay - 8.1
4. Haynes - 8.0
5. White - 7.7

DL is still our biggest need and I think we should take Suggs or Robertson at #6, but with potential in Johnson and Bell I'm against the idea of taking DL in both the 1st AND 2nd.

 

[red desert]

Originally posted by EndZone
Can you imagine what his stats would have been like next to a healthy Duane Robertson? WOW!

Can you imagine what his stats would be like with a healthy Dewayne Robertson next to him now - WOW!

Add a healthy Wendell Bryant and a healthy KVB and we just be set.

 

[EndZone]

Originally posted by red desert
Can you imagine what his stats would be like with a healthy Dewayne Robertson next to him now - WOW!

Add a healthy Wendell Bryant and a healthy KVB and we just be set.

I was actually talking about what kind of stats he would have had as a senior in College...not insuating we should take Robertson.

 

[red desert]

Originally posted by EndZone
I was actually talking about what kind of stats he would have had as a senior in College...not insuating we should take Robertson.

I know. I was just taking it one step further. It is a possibility.

 

[JeffGollin]

Crucial for DJ will be his offseason conditioning and weight program plus further schooling in techniques.

While everyone is excited about what he can do, he has to prove he consistently do it. That's why we cannot consider passing up a talent Suggs in the "hope" that DJ will be the answer as a pass rusher. This team has been burned in the past waiting for young talent to blossom (i.e. the O-Line during the Joyce, Wolf and Dexter era).

We should be so lucky that we wind up with 2 pass rushers like Suggs and and an improved Johnson that we could rotate and keep fresh and who'd provide depth at a position we haven't been very lucky with healthwise.

 

[EndZone]

One thing I learned about DJ while trying to find info about him is that he plays the run very well. We could really be set on the D-Line if everything works out and we get Suggs. KVB could go to the bench or DT on 3rd downs with Suggs and Johnson on the Ends.

 

[pinnacle]

something about playing at kentucky that was briefly mentioned..I wonder how many opportunities johnson had to make sacks.. kentucky was usually down by quite a bit and in games I have watched the past 2 seasons (on espn gameday packages) teams usually spent the entire 2nd half running against kentucky as they had decent size leads...