Patrick
Johnson.
Patrick
Johnson.
Tulane· 6'2"· 240 lb· 4.59s 40
"A 6'2", 240-lb Tulane edge with an 8.88 RAS and 10 sacks with 14.5 tackles-for-loss as a 2020 senior on 32-inch arms — a Round-7 sub-package speed rusher and core special-teams projection."Pre-draft read
A twitchy stand-up rusher, aligned wide of the tackle, who wins with first-step quickness and an arc plan. His money release is the outside shoulder, executed with a clean dip-and-rip; a chop-arm-over serves as his counter when the tackle overkicks. Hands are active and purposeful, though not consistently reset once engaged. When a longer tackle latches on, the rush can stall, lacking a true bull rush to fall back on.
Against the run, he sets a hard edge from a two-point stance but gets moved off the spot by combo blocks and pullers. His diagnosis is quick, and pursuit angles are correct. Drop reps are cleaner than expected for a converted college end; he flips his hips to the flat with speed and can spot-drop into curl-flat zones. On coverage teams, he closes in phase and tackles low.
Cover-3 match, single-gap attacking fronts with dedicated pressure concepts and multiple stand-up rushers.
Rotational 3rd-down pass rusher in year one with special teams snaps, projects as a sub-package starter on passing downs by year three.
Gap/duo defensive end where he is asked to set a hard edge and anchor against pullers and combo blocks, as his lack of mass will be exploited.
Johnson's twitch and bend make him a valuable piece in a scheme that prioritizes edge disruption and allows him to freely attack the backfield from a wide alignment.
Tulane DE Patrick Johnson Highlights 🌊 ᴴᴰ
Game film cut-up of Patrick Johnson's Tulane tape.
OFFICAL Patrick Johnson Tulane Highlights!
Game film cut-up of Patrick Johnson's Tulane tape.
Patrick Johnson
Game film cut-up of Patrick Johnson's Tulane tape.
This prospect projects as a sub-package speed rusher whose immediate value addition is on special teams. Teams are buying a high-motor, high-production edge who offers a quick first step and genuine bend to win the corner, providing a situational pass rush role while developing his frame. His 8.88 RAS at his pro day validated the explosiveness seen on tape as a stand-up rusher.
The 2020 senior tape highlighted his disruptive ability, with 10 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss in 11 games as the AAC's most dominant edge rusher, following a productive junior year. He was a multi-year captain, praised for his leadership and interview process. His extensive career production, totaling over 28 sacks, underscored his on-field impact against Group-of-Five competition. He showed positive flashes against Ole Miss in 2019.
Evaluators were concerned about his 32-inch arm length, which put him in the eighth percentile for the position, and his lack of anchor at 240 pounds against more physical fronts. These factors, alongside the Group-of-Five competition level, capped his projection to a sub-package role. Consensus had him slated between the sixth round and priority undrafted, but he was selected 234th overall.
- 01
Production on tape
Back-to-back double-digit tackle-for-loss seasons at Tulane (12 TFL and 9 sacks in 2019, 14.5 TFL and 10 sacks in 2020) with 28-plus career sacks, the loudest three-year edge résumé in the AAC.
- 02
First-step quickness
Consistently first man out of a two-point stance, with 10-yard splits inside 1.65 that translate to real corner speed and a get-off advantage even against ACC-level tackles at the Senior Bowl.
- 03
Bend and ankle flex
Genuine ability to dip the near shoulder and flatten to the quarterback, one of the few small-school edges in the class who could turn the arc at a true depth without stalling out.
- 04
Rush plan
Sets up pass sets, works outside-in with a chop-arm-over counter and knows when to spin back inside; the moves are sequenced and reactive, not one-note off the snap.
- 05
Special-teams and intangibles
Multi-year Tulane captain, praised for preparation and locker-room voice; the closing burst and open-field tackling profile immediately on kickoff and punt-team units.
- 01
Length
32-inch arms and a 77¾-inch wingspan sit in the 8th and 13th percentile for the position; NFL tackles with reach advantage can catch him first and end the rush before it starts.
- 02
Anchor at the point of attack
Playing at 240 pounds against a pro-level run game, he gets displaced by combo blocks and pulling guards, and the base can be tipped by a firm punt-and-drive tackle.
- 03
Level of competition
Career production was earned against AAC tackles; the flashes against Ole Miss (2019) and Southern Miss were positive but the ACC/SEC sample was thin, and the Senior Bowl reps were mixed.
- 04
Second-move usage
Wins so consistently with the first-step outside rush that his counter library is under-developed on tape; when tackles overset him early he does not always reset hands and stack another move.
Relative Athletic Score (Kent Lee Platte) benchmarks combine/pro-day numbers against every measured prospect at the position since 1987. 10.00 is elite; 5.00 is average.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.59sp50
- Vertical
- 35inp50
- Broad jump
- 119inp50
- Three-cone
- 6.97sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.41sp50
- Bench
- 16repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Wisconsin | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | Tulane | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Tulane | 13 | 50 | 10.5 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2019 | Tulane | 13 | 35 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2020 | Tulane | 11 | 39 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Career | — | 49 | 139 | 23.5 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Late-round edge with plus first-step quickness and undersized frame; carved a core-four special-teams role while flashing on obvious passing downs.
Long, light stand-up rusher whose NFL life was built on sub-package snaps and specials before he grew into rotational value — the outcome the Eagles were underwriting.
Undersized college edge who bounced across three organizations as a subpackage rusher without ever locking down a defensive role — the realistic downside if the anchor never comes.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Pre-draft context. A 6'2", 240-lb Tulane edge who capped a four-year Green Wave career with a 2020 senior season of 10 sacks, 14.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles across 11 games, following a 12-TFL, 9-sack junior year. Career sack total finished above 28. At the Saints-hosted Tulane pro day (the 2021 combine was cancelled) he tested to an 8.88 RAS with a 4.59 forty, 35-inch vertical, 119-inch broad, 6.97 three-cone, 4.41 short shuttle and 16 bench reps on 32-inch arms and 10-inch hands. Team captain and steady interview across the pre-draft cycle. Consensus board slot was Round 6 to priority undrafted, with the length and anchor concerns and Group-of-Five schedule capping the projection to a sub-package rusher and coverage-teams contributor.
NFL fit — Philadelphia Eagles. Selected 234th overall in the seventh round by the organization, which valued the special-teams profile and third-down speed to complement Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat on the edge depth chart. He made the initial 53 as a rookie, quickly earned a core role on coverage units and by his second season had authored a signature moment — blocking a punt for a touchdown against the Steelers in 2022 — while carving out sub-package snaps behind an elite rotation. He was on the active roster for the Eagles' Super Bowl LVII run, was retained on subsequent depth-focused rookie extensions and continued to profile as a fourth or fifth edge and top-tier gunner.
Retrospective. A clean seventh-round outcome and one of the more efficient Day-3 hits from the 2021 class relative to slot. The Eagles never asked Johnson to be a base run defender, which sidestepped the anchor concern that dropped him to 234, and instead extracted a multi-year core special-teamer with occasional sub-package production on a championship-caliber roster. The ceiling was always a fourth edge, but for the 234th pick that role, plus the Super Bowl-active tenure and blocked-punt highlight, is a comfortable hit.