Philadelphia Eagles: Patrick Johnson adds a wrinkle to the 2021 draft class

And just like that, it’s done. After an unknowable number of hours of scouting, strategizing, and preparation, the Philadelphia Eagles have closed out their 2021 NFL Draft class with Patrick Johnson out of Tulane 234th overall.

Now normally, this wouldn’t be too big of a deal. For every Jordan Mailtata and Jalen Mills who beat the odds and become NFL starters, there are players like Joe Walker, Casey Toohill, and Brian Mihalik who become mere footnotes in Eagles history.

But, and I know this gets thrown around a lot, but in this case, it’s actually apt, as Johnson is a whole lot more intriguing than your average seventh-round flyer.

Don’t believe me? Well, allow me to introduce you to the newest member of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Will the Philadelphia Eagles put Patrick Johnson in a position to succeed?

More from Section 215

• 4 Eagles on the Bubble Who Have Clinched Their 53-Man Roster Spots
• Best Pennsylvania Sportsbook Promos: Win $650 GUARANTEED Bonus PLUS $100 off NFL Sunday Ticket
• 3 Punters the Eagles Must Target to Replace Arryn Siposs
• Cowboys Trey Lance Trade Proves How Screwed They Are With Dak Prescott
• Devon Allen Took Britain Covey’s Job on Eagles

Over the past three seasons, Patrick Johnson was Tulane’s best defensive player.

Measuring in at 6-foot-2, 240 pounds, Johnson set the edge for one of the better teams in the American Athletic Conference and put all sorts of statistics on the books by amassing 132 tackles, 35(!) tackles for loss, and 21 sacks to go along with six forced fumbles and 11 passes defensed.

He rushed the passer with a hand in the ground, rushed the ball standing up a la Chris Long back in the day, and even took snaps from the wide-9, where his bursty first step forced opposing quarterbacks to get rid of the ball fast lest they end up pulling turf out of their visors post-sack.

Had the Eagles not invested another Day 3 pick on an uber-productive college defensive end by the name of Tarron Jackson, it wouldn’t have been particularly hard to pontificate about him slotting in as a fourth/fifth defensive end behind Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, and Josh Sweat, but there was a tiny linguistics alteration, a few measly characters, that could change the entire evaluation of picking Johnson 234th overall.

See his positional listing? Despite being a three-time All-AAC edge rusher, it would appear the Philadelphia Eagles plan on using Johnson as a linebacker moving forward, not a defensive end.

Interesting… interesting.

Now to be fair, if Johnson was picked by a 3-4 team, he most definitely would have been used as a linebacker. The NFL’s Lance Zierlein compared Johnson to Derek Barnett in his scouting report, and PFF called Johnson a third-round talent who plays like a “Poor man’s Carl Lawson” in their draft guide, both of whom projected as outside linebackers coming out of college. With that being said, the decision to switch him now, before trading in his green, blue, and white uni in for a very handsome shade of kelly green midnight green, is a bit odd, especially after doing the same with their final sixth-round pick, JaCoby Stevens.

But then you remember that the Eagles are trying to do the same exact position swap with another tweener by the name of Genard Avery, and suddenly, this move makes a lot more sense.

With 4.59 speed and good height for an outside linebacker, it’s not hard to imagine Johnson playing a similar role to Anthony Barr in Jonathan Gannon’s scheme, aka a do-it-all front-seven player who can rush from anywhere and get good pressure regardless of down and distance. Though he’s only played 165 snaps off the ball over the past three seasons, with very few coming against coverage, Johnson has fairly comparable athletic testing numbers to Barr, albeit at a slightly smaller size.

Even if Johnson never becomes more than a special teamer, this is about as low-risk of a selection as any team can make. But if Johnson can work his butt off, learn a new hybrid position, and pull a Mailata a few years down the line, he could go down as one of the better selections in this year’s class, as there really aren’t that many players in the NFL who can play the Vikings-Barr role, let alone ones whos are available in the seventh round.

In the seventh round, give me the boomiest of boom-or-bust players.

So there you go, the 2021 NFL Draft is officially over. The Philadelphia Eagles selected nine players, three on offense and the rest on defense, and for the most part, the entire ordeal went smoothly. Heck, Howie Roseman even netted a future first and a future fifth while moving around the board with ease, which is nice, considering the 2022 class is considered much deeper and could benefit from a semi-normal season of college football. All and all, a very fine way to end the day, especially if Patrick Johnson can beat out the odds – and Genard Avery – and become a player.