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Selection 1.16, Kevin Johnson, CB Wake Forest

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2015 NFL Draft Results: What Kevin Johnson Brings To The Texans
By Brett Kollmann

In perhaps one of the very best moves of the entire first round, the Texans have added a stud cornerback to an already deep position group. Houston's defense was a strength as it is, but now the Bulls on Parade are approaching downright ridiculousness.
At long last, the moment has finally arrived! With the 16th pick of the 2015 NFL Draft, your Houston Texans have selected Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest. For those wondering what Johnson - the fourth ranked player overall on my Top 40 Big Board - brings to the table, here is my unreleased abbreviated scouting report:

Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest
Size/bulk ---------------------------------- 7 (6’0" 188. Almost exactly the same size as Trae Waynes)

Length ------------------------------------- 5 (Short arms at 31 inches...again the same as Waynes. Luckily for him that doesn’t matter as much because he’s a 7X1 off-corner and not a press guy)

Footwork --------------------------------- 9 (Phenomenal feet. Low pedal with very quick, controlled steps. T-step and close are elite in this class. Always walls inside first in catch technique and press. Extremely fluid feet that seem like an extension of his consciousness)

Hips ---------------------------------------- 9 (Remarkably loose hips. He can change directions on a dime and transition against double stems and releases instantly)

Eyes/discipline -------------------------- 5 (Very aggressive corner. When he got beat, most of the time it was due to poor eye discipline. Needs to train his eyes to lock in on the hips when in press or catch, and he needs to learn when to be keying the quarterback and when to be securing the route while pedaling. Getting that order correct is crucial, and sometimes he was doing the wrong step at the wrong time because he wanted to make the big play rather than being patient)

Ball skills ---------------------------------- 8 (Good ball skills. Hands are small but he tracks and times his jumps well, and he takes good angles to get himself in position to at least break up the pass if he can’t pick it off)

Speed/quickness ------------------------ 8 (Average long speed, but as an off corner I don’t care as much about that because he shouldn’t – and won’t – be asked to press much and run in trail from the snap. His short area quickness and explosive closing speed are elite, which is far more important for his role. His t-step to close on underneath throws and screens is pretty f***ing ridiculous)

Hand usage ------------------------------- 8 (Good hands for the most part. Love his sling shot to go with fluid hips to get himself back onto receiver’s hip pocket on breaks and stems. He was physical but understood how to keep it within the frame and stay within the rules. Kept hand on the back and not the shoulder pad, so he could motor down on curls and comebacks instantly. Was beat a couple times when he didn’t get his hand in the right spot soon enough, but he has obviously at least learned where to put them already)

Durability ---------------------------------- 10 (41 career starts as a redshirt senior and never missed a game to injury. No health problems what so ever)

Tackling/Toughness- -------------------- 7 (Aggressive, downhill hitter despite his thin frame. He loves contact. He can’t hold the point against blockers because of said size concerns…especially if it’s a tight end or a lineman in space…but he does his best to work into force position. He won’t shed many blocks, but if he has room to work he’ll come in like a missile on runners in the open field)

Character/leadership ------------------- 8 (Not a captain, but he’s a hard worker and a great kid. Was academically ineligible for sophomore season but he learned from it and grew. I wasn’t a good student either as a freshman either, so I don’t care as much about that. He loves the game and wants to be the best. Shouldn’t be any problem in the locker room)

OVERALL ----------------------------------- 84 (Gifted off-cover corner prospect. Average long speed, but he’s an explosive athlete over short areas with fluid hips, lightning quick feet, and an aggressive mentality to get after the ball. Eye discipline still needs work, and that was his biggest problem and the cause of most of his rep losses. He’s also thinly built and couldn’t really disengage against lead blockers on running plays, but in space he was a very aggressive tackler on ball carriers if he could get to them. He might have a little bit of a learning curve at first while he re-trains his eyes, but once he does he’ll be a fantastic corner for a team that likes to run off coverage. Good kid off the field that loves the game and wants to get better)​
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http://www.battleredblog.com/2015/4/30/8524143/2015-nfl-draft-what-blank-blank-brings-to-the-texans
*************************************

Texans First Round Pick Kevin Johnson Shows Off His Ridiculous Athleticism

I am not physically gifted enough to catch a football with one hand or do a back flip. Kevin Johnson can do both of those things...at the same time.
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I think this is an excellent pick. KJo has the length, quickness, and athleticism to become a very good CB.

Those that hate this pick, think of it this way, CB's are a very expensive position to fill in FA so instead of paying insane money in FA to fill JJo's vacant CB position next year, we drafted a very good CB a year early and can now control him on a cheap rookie contract for 5 yrs.. This move also gives Johnson a year to learn from JJo. All that saved money allows us to make other FA moves next year instead of chasing down grossly expensive CB's. This is a money ball or salary management pick, and a very good one at that.
 
Sigh a corner that played in a horrible conference against not the highest level of talent. His smaller frame and his foot speed seems to be way off.. 4.52 40 yard dash for a lockdown corner? I hope I'm wrong but no thrilled on this pick.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
With some of the suggestions that with his lanky physique he would be expected to bulk up for the NFL, one would have to wonder how much of the traits that made him attractive to the Texans may be adversely affected by the gain.
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he's already too slow he can't get any slower..
 
That's insane.

I hate watching something like that, though. If you're off just a hair, you risk ending up being a quadriplegic.
 
Marcus said:
That's insane.

I hate watching something like that, though. If you're off just a hair, you risk ending up being a quadriplegic.
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yeah he was just show boating, doubt if it's part of his regular training regimen... not like JJ jumpin on a 61" box
 
My initial thoughts:

- Remember the days when our defensive backfield was a hopeless mess? Before this pick, we were two injuries away from being almost that bad again.

- If Smith wants to re-sign Joseph, he can now do it on his terms.

- Bouye had a pretty intense shoulder surgery this offseason. He's a question mark at the moment.

- This pick was need + BPA. The best kind.

- 188 lbs is a passable size for CB. I doubt he bulks up. Remember how Steve Slaton added 10 lbs and lost his quickness?

- His vertical is insane for his size.

- He's "too small" like Darren Sproles is too small.

- His athleticism offers the potential to play both sides of the ball. O'Brien has shown a willingness to allow that.
 
I've seen enough shitty secondaries in my life to actually be upset about this pick.

Let's hope he turns out good. I'm not one for judging until **** actually happens on the field.
 
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Hard to complain about this pick .... Sure there are other positions that many felt needed to be addressed with urgency but it appears to me they took what they thought was the best available talent.

Still 9 picks left to fill those other needs and a lot of talent left on the board.
 
After the kiddies corners debacle of a few years ago I admire the Texans' foresight in taking a player of need next offseason who should be able to contribute situationally right off the bat.

We've also seen JJo struggle with injuries throughout his time as a Texan (credit to him for not letting it take him off the field too much) so this really should help us out big time down the road.

Any pick would have left other positions of need on the board, but we see a deep draft and the WR position of need, and already have our #1, and the LB coaching is one of our strongest coaching position groups, so Vrabel and RAC should be able to get the best out of lower round picks who fit what they want to achieve.

Can't really comment on the player as I've not seen any college football, but I really like some of the things I've read about this dude and I'd prefer a guy with the right attitude and mental attributes to a prototype body who the coaching staff have less faith in.

I think they've improved our draft and FA strategy for next offseason beyond recognition by addressing this situation ahead of time and the kid will have a great chance to succeed without the pressure to start day 1.
 
NastyNate said:
I don't get the pick. I really don't. I hope I'm wrong.
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Johnathan Joseph is in the last year of his contract. Either we pay him a king's ransom to keep him next year or draft & train his replacement this year and let him go in free agency.
Either we
(a) end up with a young and comparatively cheap starting CB next year (2016)
or
(b) we pay big bucks to retain or extend Joseph
or
(c) we go with one of those whodats currently behind J-Jo and KJ.

(a) and (c) have the additional bonus of yielding a comp pick in 2017 - probably 3rd or 4th round since J-Jo is a well-paid starter. And then there's the fact that letting J-Jo walk makes our secondary younger and increases cap space.

This looks like actual long term planning to me.
 
JB said:
You pretty much nailed it, but K Jackson will predominately play slot this year and K Johnson will play outside
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Even good CBs have to adjust to the NFL. I wouldn't count on him for more than a situational roll in his first year. But considering the first pick for Indianapolis was Dorsett, it looks like we got him just in time.
 
ObsiWan said:
Johnathan Joseph is in the last year of his contract. Either we pay him a king's ransom to keep him next year or draft & train his replacement this year and let him go in free agency.

This looks like actual long term planning to me.
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I agree this is long term planning. I disagree JJo would be a king's ransom to extend. Love to have all 3 on the field for more than 1 season. With one on a rookie contract and one on a final contract I think it was possible but not to be or it would already be done.
 
TexansFight said:
This has Rick's stupidity all over it. I am sure BOB wanted Gordon. Rick assured him that he would be there. This guy is NEVER AGGRESSIVE in the draft. He got played like usual. If you can't see what happened you are blind. I am sick and tired of McNair and Smith. ****ing sell the team and get rid of the worst GM in recent Houston sports history.
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I agree.
 
A first round talent, but these posts stink of trying to rationalize after the fact. Who here wanted a cornerback in the first round, or had Kevin on their radar?
 
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infantrycak said:
I agree this is long term planning. I disagree JJo would be a king's ransom to extend. Love to have all 3 on the field for more than 1 season. With one on a rookie contract and one on a final contract I think it was possible but not to be or it would already be done.
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Well, I wouldn't whine about that either. At a minimum this is insurance and planning in case Joseph leaves. I know Joseph won't command Revis money on the open mkt but now we have insurance in case he wants more than we'd like to pay.
 
badboy said:
Fans say we have priority need OLB and CB position is stacked, yet Texans draft corner. This says to me that CLowney is recovering well.
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Nobody knows how Clowney is going to turn out until the live bullets start flying and see how the knee holds up.
 
Wow. I just read through this whole thread. Just. Wow.

I didn't expect us to take a CB. I felt like that was a fairly good position group for us BUT I was worried earlier in the year that we'd cut JJo to save space. Without JJo, this position group doesn't look so good, and considering that JJo and KJ have spent some time injured, there are times that our CB group has been a bit thin.

For me, the drafting of Johnson smacks of BPA but also of thinking of the future.

He's not a pick I would have made, but in hindsight, I don't disagree with the pick. I think this is a good, solid pick, and I think he's a player that's going to help the team a lot. But his real value may not show itself that much this season but next year and the year after, he could prove to be a steal at this spot.
 
The Pencil Neck said:
Wow. I just read through this whole thread. Just. Wow.

I didn't expect us to take a CB. I felt like that was a fairly good position group for us BUT I was worried earlier in the year that we'd cut JJo to save space. Without JJo, this position group doesn't look so good, and considering that JJo and KJ have spent some time injured, there are times that our CB group has been a bit thin.

For me, the drafting of Johnson smacks of BPA but also of thinking of the future.

He's not a pick I would have made, but in hindsight, I don't disagree with the pick. I think this is a good, solid pick, and I think he's a player that's going to help the team a lot. But his real value may not show itself that much this season but next year and the year after, he could prove to be a steal at this spot.
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It's a pick that speaks to planning for the future.

Folks aren't used to seeing that from the folks on Kirby so it probably scared the bejeezus out of some. Especially paycheck to paycheck types who only pay the bills marked "past due" and don't look ahead.
:kitten:
 
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Scooter said:
A first round talent, but these posts stink of trying to rationalize after the fact. Who here wanted a cornerback in the first round, or had Kevin on their radar?
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I wanted the best player in the first round. If Johnson isn't that he's at least pretty damn close.

Playoffs and I both listed Johnson as a guy we would pick in the Predict the Pick thread in the Mock Draft forum.

And in my final mock, I was choosing between Johnson and Cam Erving at #16. Personally, I went with Erving because this is a weak Center class and Dupree wasn't still on the board in my scenario, but I can completely understand going with Johnson. It seems quite possible that the Texans may have ended up in the same debate, since Erving ended up going #19 right behind us.

I wouldn't be surprised to see us target Oregon C Hroniss Grasu in the 2nd round. And people will probably complain about that one too if it happens.
 
steelbtexan said:
Nobody knows how Clowney is going to turn out until the live bullets start flying and see how the knee holds up.
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Nobody knows how a draft pick will adapt to the NFL either. There are lots of unknowns in the offseason. One thing I do know is the Texans know WAY more about Mr Clowney than anyone they could draft this year. I think they feel he's capable of playing and if he can at 75% of his talent level he's an upgrade over anyone playing LB for us last season.

I'm not thrilled with the pick and seeing speedy WRs leave the board after our pick (one to our chief rival) just make it worse. Johnson does look like he could be a solid CB but I don't see anything special in him. He's a Jackson at best but doubt he'll be a bust. OK pick but I think we could have done better. Hope I'm wrong.
 
Put me down as OK with the pick, with an asteric. It depends on the rest of the draft. The Colts have made their passing attack even faster and more potent. For weeks I've been pushing this direction for the Texans. We have not replaced Reed. Today will likely determine how pleased I will be with the draft. Other needs, such as OC/OG and safety can be addressed tomorrow. But if our two primary needs are not addressed today, anyone selected tomorrow are less likely to make major contributions this coming season.
 
Where's Mr Sunshine ? I want to see him turn over a new leaf here and be something besides Doom & Gloom about our top pick. Maybe he could say something upbeat and bold like he sees Johnson as having a chance to be the next great cornerback coming into the NFL ? You know, move over Derrel Revis.
 
infantrycak said:
I agree this is long term planning. I disagree JJo would be a king's ransom to extend. Love to have all 3 on the field for more than 1 season. With one on a rookie contract and one on a final contract I think it was possible but not to be or it would already be done.
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If JJo has a reasonably solid year while he's in there, and extends his history of nagging injuries with some missed games, I wouldn't be surprised to see his value to other teams be lessened, but his value to this team little diminished. I think both sides will understand this and JJo will seek a truly reasonable contract that keeps him in a familiar and ideal situation with an up and coming championship D and team.........I wouldn't be in any way surprised if under these circumstances, JJo offers the Texans a friendly "home town discount".....and the Texans gladly accept.
 
EllisUnit said:
Yeah but we have so much GOOD depth at CB right now as it is. Makes zero sense to me to make your first priority a CB. We have no LBs, no depth on the D-line, no depth at WR behind Nuk, besides Shorts who you can't trust to be healthy.
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That's why the pick surprised me so much.

TheRealJoker said:
Quickest CB in the draft. Finally gives us a player that can match up against TY Hilton. We have the luxury of having Jo Jo mentor him his rookie season so he can be eased in as a starter in year two. It's a passing league and we have taken steps this offseason to combat that.
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Quickest, yes. Fastest, no.

Marshall said:
I think it's a stretch pick, but I trust the Front Office more than myself.
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I'm with half of that.

CloakNNNdagger said:
With some of the suggestions that with his lanky physique he would be expected to bulk up for the NFL, one would have to wonder how much of the traits that made him attractive to the Texans may be adversely affected by the gain.
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Not as worried about this aspect. Had his coach on 610 this morning, the kid was a buck fifty out of high school. Thus far, weight gain hasn't hampered him.

TheRealJoker said:
This is why we drafted Kevin Johnson: Quickest CB in the draft. And it shows up on film.
Kevin Johnson:

- 20 yd shuttle: 3.89
- 3 cone drill: 6.79
- Broad jump: 10'10"
- Vertical: 41.5"

Needless to say, Kevin Johnson has the quick twitch explosive style that our starters lack and that we need to match up against the TY Hilton and Julian Edelmans of the league.
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I noticed you left off the 40 time and then suggest he's a good matchup against TY Hilton. Sure, if he's covering TY underneath. He simply doesn't have the wheels to stay with TY downfield.

You seem to think these are pointless, but let's get those 40 times out there:

*Trae Waynes - 4.31
Jonathan Joseph - 4.31
TY Hilton - 4.34
Kareem Jackson - 4.48
*Kevin Johnson - 4.52

I think he's a solid pick (if a bit of a reach), but I'm not sure he has the downfield wheels to be a #1 cover corner.

He's growing on me, but I want to see him against NFL receivers.
 
disaacks3 said:
That's why the pick surprised me so much.

Quickest, yes. Fastest, no.

I'm with half of that.

Not as worried about this aspect. Had his coach on 610 this morning, the kid was a buck fifty out of high school. Thus far, weight gain hasn't hampered him.

I noticed you left off the 40 time and then suggest he's a good matchup against TY Hilton. Sure, if he's covering TY underneath. He simply doesn't have the wheels to stay with TY downfield.

You seem to think these are pointless, but let's get those 40 times out there:

*Trae Waynes - 4.31
Jonathan Joseph - 4.31
TY Hilton - 4.34
Kareem Jackson - 4.48
*Kevin Johnson - 4.52

I think he's a solid pick (if a bit of a reach), but I'm not sure he has the downfield wheels to be a #1 cover corner.

He's growing on me, but I want to see him against NFL receivers.
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I have my doubts that Joseph is anywhere close to his combine time now.

There needs to be a 'sell by' date on these stats.
 
disaacks3 said:
Originally Posted by CloakNNNdagger View Post
With some of the suggestions that with his lanky physique he would be expected to bulk up for the NFL, one would have to wonder how much of the traits that made him attractive to the Texans may be adversely affected by the gain.
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Not as worried about this aspect. Had his coach on 610 this morning, the kid was a buck fifty out of high school. Thus far, weight gain hasn't hampered him.
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There's a huge difference in gaining muscle bulk (~35 lbs) from high school through college when you're still "growing"......especially when the start point is "scrawny." Muscle add in such cases universally contributes to building of increased strength and performance. Trying to add significantly more bulk (beyond ~5 pounds) from that point, especially in a position such as CB, is less likely to add to durability without significantly affecting performance.
 
Marshall said:
I have my doubts that Joseph is anywhere close to his combine time now.

There needs to be a 'sell by' date on these stats.
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And Kevin Johnson doesn't have anywhere near the experience either.

KJ2 is a replacement for today's JJo minus the experience. He's not a replacement for Draft Day JJo.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
There's a huge difference in gaining muscle bulk (~35 lbs) from high school through college when you're still "growing"......especially when the start point is "scrawny." Muscle add in such cases universally contributes to building of increased strength and performance. Trying to add significantly more bulk (beyond ~5 pounds) from that point, especially in a position such as CB, is less likely to add to durability without significantly affecting performance.
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True, but (once again, according to his coach) he has a good sized frame to hang it on. If it was only bulk for bulk's sake, I'd be more concerned. The boy still has some filling out to do.:fingergun:
 
The best news is we didn't take Bud when he was there which tells me Clowney may be ok . The good news is we didn't take Erving which tells me they're ok with X and Jones .

I think the Texans have one of the best set of corners in the league now to go along with what could be a great front 7 . :fans:
 
disaacks3 said:
That's why the pick surprised me so much.

Quickest, yes. Fastest, no.

I'm with half of that.

Not as worried about this aspect. Had his coach on 610 this morning, the kid was a buck fifty out of high school. Thus far, weight gain hasn't hampered him.

I noticed you left off the 40 time and then suggest he's a good matchup against TY Hilton. Sure, if he's covering TY underneath. He simply doesn't have the wheels to stay with TY downfield.

You seem to think these are pointless, but let's get those 40 times out there:

*Trae Waynes - 4.31
Jonathan Joseph - 4.31
TY Hilton - 4.34
Kareem Jackson - 4.48
*Kevin Johnson - 4.52

I think he's a solid pick (if a bit of a reach), but I'm not sure he has the downfield wheels to be a #1 cover corner.

He's growing on me, but I want to see him against NFL receivers.
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40 time is overrated. Who is the best CB in the NFL? Richard Sherman and he's got the slowest 40 of anyone on this list. Quickness/agility are much better measures of a CBs projected success at the NFL level.

Running 40 yards in a straight line... not so much
 
This is the time of year when people get caught up on stats from the combine and forget what the player did on the field. What does the film say? Some people run really fast in shorts and not so fast with gear on.

PS
JJ Watt ran a 4.81, he's not going to get to too many QBs.
 
infantrycak said:
I agree this is long term planning. I disagree JJo would be a king's ransom to extend. Love to have all 3 on the field for more than 1 season. With one on a rookie contract and one on a final contract I think it was possible but not to be or it would already be done.
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I agree with this, more or less, but I'd be just as fine letting Jjo go if it comes to it.

I think we're in a strong position now to ask Jjo to take a pay cut or leave. I wouldn't have a problem with restructure & extending him three or four years, I'd probably prefer that. But that doesn't appear to be the way we do things nowadays.
 
Exascor said:
I'm not thrilled with the pick and seeing speedy WRs leave the board after our pick (one to our chief rival) just make it worse. Johnson does look like he could be a solid CB but I don't see anything special in him. He's a Jackson at best but doubt he'll be a bust. OK pick but I think we could have done better. Hope I'm wrong.
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The Colts scored 17 points against us in week 15. If our defense can pick up where it left off, adding speedy WRs doesn't really help the Colts all that much.

disaacks3 said:
You seem to think these are pointless, but let's get those 40 times out there:

*Trae Waynes - 4.31
Jonathan Joseph - 4.31
TY Hilton - 4.34
Kareem Jackson - 4.48
*Kevin Johnson - 4.52

I think he's a solid pick (if a bit of a reach), but I'm not sure he has the downfield wheels to be a #1 cover corner.

He's growing on me, but I want to see him against NFL receivers.
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In a foot race, we're at a disadvantage for sure, but since our guy can get a 5 yard... 10 yard head start, not so bad. We just have to get good at guessing when they're going to take a shot down filed & getting a safety over the top.

What Kevin Johnson does do though, based on the numbers TRJ provided, is give us someone who can stop Hilton from getting wide open on underneath routes & taking them to the house.
 
Brisco_County said:
- 188 lbs is a passable size for CB. I doubt he bulks up. Remember how Steve Slaton added 10 lbs and lost his quickness?
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I don't know how accurate it is, but Texans.com lists JJo, KJax, Morris, Rolle and Hal all at 188. And Trae Waynes, who a lot of people wanted, is listed at 186. I'm not understanding why people are having an issue with Johnson's size.
 
I like the pick a lot. After perusing this thread and taking note of who the knee-jerks were....I love the pick now.

41 straight games is pretty impressive *knocks on wood*

It was kinda crazy the way this guy suddenly began to appear in a lot of the media's mocks this past week. It seemed like he was flying up boards the past few days

Props to the one's who nailed this pick.
 
Honoring Earl 34 said:
The best news is we didn't take Bud when he was there which tells me Clowney may be ok . The good news is we didn't take Erving which tells me they're ok with X and Jones .

I think the Texans have one of the best set of corners in the league now to go along with what could be a great front 7 . :fans:
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I'd hesitate to draw these conclusions from the Johnson pick. Clowney at this early stage in his rehab is a coin flip at best. X will probably find himself a landing place on the line. But Jones outside of playing college center is a total unknown at that position in the NFL. Again, I would hesitate to draw quick conclusions re. the state of the Texans thinking solely based on the first day pick.
 
I don't LOVE him, but I'm not down on the pick either. The speed thing does concern me somewhat. He has good short burst quickness and good feet, so maybe that makes up for it. I think his 40 time is a tick faster than Richard Sherman's and that didn't hold Sherman back. However, Sherman is rare outlier. Most top CBs came out of college with 40 time under 4.4. It is very rare for a CB to end up in the elite category with a 40 time over 4.5, so we are hoping for an exception here.
 
Speedy said:
I don't know how accurate it is, but Texans.com lists JJo, KJax, Morris, Rolle and Hal all at 188. And Trae Waynes, who a lot of people wanted, is listed at 186. I'm not understanding why people are having an issue with Johnson's size.
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It's because he's a little taller than the other CBs so he looks slimmer on the eye test. That and alot of people weren't expecting a CB to be drafted and they are afraid.
 
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