Dallas Cowboys Draft: Top-10 safeties and their potential fit

JaQuan Johnson, Miami (FL)

What’s Good: Coverage skills, General Athleticism

What Ain’t Good: Tackling, Size

Johnson projects well as a rangy free safety. He’s athletic enough to run from sideline to sideline but he isn’t very good at tackling. When he plays the ball, there’s no guarantee that it ends up with him, but it doesn’t end up with the receiver he’s covering. He only had two interceptions in 2018 and 4 in 2017 according to Sports Reference.

Johnson has the ability to line up in the slot, outside, and deep. He’s good at playing tight ends at the line. He’s physical at the point of attack but he may not get away with the contact at the next level. When covering receivers in the slot, his reaction time is good and his athleticism allows him to make a play on the ball or at the very least stop the receiver for a short gain.

The thing I noticed constantly with Johnson that kept worrying me was his tackling. They don’t get broken often but when goes for a tackle especially in the open field, he seems more like an “ankle tackler.” I’d like to think he’s not that because he can deliver a good shoulder blow but I just find it as a more common occurrence.

He’s a bit inconsistent as a run stopper but he isn’t bad by any means. He’s okay as a blitzer but teams would be wise to not use him as such. He’s far better in coverage than when forced to tackle and that’s partially due to his size. He’s not small at 5’11” and 195 lbs, but he’s one of the smaller safeties in the draft and he plays like it.

Could he be a Cowboy?:

Yes. He could translate into a solid safety for any team and he’s good in coverage even if he doesn’t have the “ball skills” you might like to see. Seeing Johnson on the field with Kavon Frazier might be the “ideal duo” of safeties on the field but he could mesh well with Xavier Woods because of Woods’ ability to “lay the boom.” Cowboys would be fortunate to select him in the third round.