Derrick Johnson

[Ward]

From this thread (http://draftcountdown.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34152) about prospects that failed to meet personal expectations from fans, Derrick Johnson's name comes up a few times. I don't speak for all these posters, so I can only guess at their reasons for believing this. I was a big fan of his in college, but don't watch very many Chiefs games to be quite honest. So, where then does DJ fall in the NFL's ranks of current linebackers?

Mike Huff
Derrick Johnson
Peter Warrick

and

Akili Smith :(

Either suck or aren't as good as I thought they'd be:

Robert Gallery
Matt Leinert
D'Brickishaw Ferguson
Adam Carricker (Probably too early to say this, but I thought he was gonna be a straight up stud. Too bad he didn't go to a 3-4 team.)
Derrick Johnson

theres no way derrick johnson is a bust
just because hes on a crappy team doesn't mean hes a bust
hes as versatile as they come, any top notch defense would love him
u crazy

And Derrick Johnson is a good player, but he isn't the stud I thought he'd be.

I really liked Alex Barron when he was coming out, 6'7 320 with huge wingspan. At the time I said Texans took the wrong Florida St. Seminole in Travis Johnson. Both ended up sucking. Also Derrick Johnson. NCAA record in forced fumbles, Butkis Award winner. He doesnt suck but hasnt made nearly the impact I thought he would've by now. There are few more but they arent coming to me right now.

Derrick Johnson - He's not bad, but he's not what I thought he would be... in college, he was an absolute freak both athletically and in terms of production and he brought that patented uppercut move to force fumbles. He looked like he had it all.

[parrish_lemar24DBSkins]

Derrick Johnson's impact in the pros reminds me of Lavar Arrington when he played for the Skins.

Both were all-world LBs in college who had the ability to blow up an opposing offense all by themselves, but were a few notches below their press clippings in the NFL.

Lavar wasn't a great pass rusher like Derrick Thomas, but he was a very good all around LB capable of making game changing plays. An integral cog on defense, but not quite as impactful as advertised.

IMO, Derrick Johnson is somewhere between average and above average; not the playmaker he was at Texas, but probably still more talented than roughly half the starting OLB in the NFL.

To answer this question with any insight, it would help to have the opinion of a loyal KC fan or someone who's seen Johnson play close to 16 games a season the last few years.

If he were a unrestricted FA this offseason, I bet he'd command top dollar on the open market, whatever that's worth.

[Komp]

I agree with pretty much everything that has been said, that DJ is above average (ie. good but not great) OLB. That being said there are not very many playmakers on the KC defense. If the unit as a whole takes a step in the right direction, maybe you will be able to see his athleticism and playmaking ability become highlighted. If he ends up on another team with a good DL I think you would know for sure whether he was a great player on a bad defense or just an underachieving athletic specimen.

I too am curious as to what the Chief fans have to say about him and if they view him as a disappointment or not.

[Hermstheman83]

I think you should let stat's do the talking...let's look at the LB's taken from 2005-2008 in the first round:
2005:Demarcus Ware, Shawne Merriman, DJ, David Pollack.
2006: AJ Hawk, Ernie Sims, Kamerion WImbley, Chad Greenway, Bobby Carpenter, Manny Lawson
2007: Patrick Willis, Lawrence Timmons, Jon Beason, Anthony Spencer,
2008: Keith Rivers, Jerod Mayo,


If you average all these players stats(I took out season ending injury seasons, like Merrimans’ roid filled knee, Greenway, Pollack, etc) in Tackles, INTS and Sacks, here’s the averages per season:


Tackles: 76.6
Sacks: 4.0
INT:.48

Now, let’s average DJ’s stats.
Tackles: 87.25
Sacks: 3
INT: .75

So looking at this from an appropriate statistical pov, it's not a very accurate study, but I'm not going to pourage over this eh?


So he is above average. Like all of you, I wish he could show us more of that athletic ability instead of promising break out years at the start of every season. This being a contract year and all, I hope that he'd have 100+ tackles this year...but a guy can hope in one hand and crap in the other eh?

[vidae]

Heh, just saw this post now. Shows how much I visit the AFC West forum. :)

As many Chiefs know, I am a gigantic Derrick Johnson homer. I was a huge fan of his in college (who wasn't, really?) and I was more than happy that we drafted him.

As far as impact at the pro level goes, it's a little underwhelming but when you consider the team he's on, you have to love what he's done. Our defense has been ABYSMAL for years and he, until recently, was one of the only bright spots we had there. With the move to the 3-4, I think his tackle total will go up and maybe people will view him in a different light.

I still think the guy is a complete LB. He can stuff the run, he's great in coverage, he's good (not great) at rushing the QB and he's a sideline to sideline defender.

If our defense turns around I could see him having a monster year. I would be surprised if we didn't resign him but like someone said he should be a welcome addition to any team in the NFL.

[CC.SD]

DJ on the block...some fellow bolt fans were seriously disappointed in 05 that we didn't get him, opting for Merriman. Still think he could excel, but then again I never quite figured out why he wasn't doing well for KC to begin with.