Anthony

Johnson Jr.

Iowa State HC Matt Campbell has a history of identifying three-star recruits that fits his system and molding them into NFL-caliber players. Johnson Jr. (6’0/205) is no exception having worked his way into a starting role as a true freshman in 2019 before starting every single game for the next four seasons, earning Honorable Mention All-Big 12 accolades as a cornerback three times before transitioning to safety before last season. He split his reps pretty evenly between the slot and box while improving his PFF cover grade from 73.3-to-74.9 in the process. A good athlete, Johnson Jr. ran a 1.53s 10-yard split (93%) with 84th percentile jump scored for an 8.13 RAS.

Johnson (6'0/173) surrendered just 0.57 yards per coverage snap (minimum 200 coverage snaps) in the fall, with a pair of TCU defenders (Jeff Gladney and Julius Lewis) next best in the metric. Playing as a true freshman in 2018, Johnson appeared in 12 games with four starts while registering 28 tackles and five passes defensed. He is set to work as starter out of August camp upcoming. A true breakout campaign could very much be in order given what Johnson showed right out of the gate in a rotational role.