Jimbo Fisher evaluates Antonio Johnson's value in NFL

Texas A&M held pro day Monday for their three former players pursuing careers at the NFL level. One of those players was Aggies defensive back Antonio Johnson, one of the top safety prospects in the 2023 draft class. Head coach Jimbo Fisher spoke about Johnson following pro day, highlighting his skillset and how it could translate to the next level.

“Let me tell you something; competitor, tough, not many safeties can play second level, what I’m saying down in the box and be physical, but then have the ball skills to play on the top end and the third level,” Fisher said. “The safeties that go high like himself, I call coverage guys and other guys are tackle guys, but he has the ability to do both. And see in high school he was a heck of an offensive player, he had 1,000 yards receiving his senior year. So his ability to judge the ball, play the ball in a deep part of the field and cover is elite, which in the pro game you got to do.”

Johnson did it all for the Aggies last season, starting in every game he appeared in and earning second-team All-SEC honors after the season. He ended the year with 71 tackles and three forced fumbles, one each in the Aggies’ final three games of the season.

He was joined at pro day by running back Devon Achane and cornerback Jaylon Jones, and attributed the Texas A&M program for developing into the player he is today.

“But then you got to be able to tackle and he loves the physicality of it. So again, a very smart guy and talking about both those guys and Antonio, they love ball. I mean they’ve play banged up, they play bruised up, and they are very, I call, the old gym rat type guys. They love to go lift, run, do all that kind of stuff. Antonio’s always doing something working out so I appreciate him saying that, but he was tremendous for us and was not a good player, a great player for us,” Fisher said.

Fisher has coached many defensive backs that have made it to the professional level, including Pro Bowl safety Derwin James, and was asked if Johnson and James had any similarities in their game.

“Well I mean I don’t know if that’s fair for either one of them, because they are their own guys,” Fisher said. “It’s funny Antonio would come to me and say hey what was Derwin like? But then that shows you he was aware of who I’d been around and coached and say hey that guy, he’s seen him get paid, he saw Jalen Ramsey get paid, he saw Xavier Rhodes, Ronald Darby, Lamarcus Joyner, there’s a whole run of them, I mean there’s a ton of them.”

Comparing a prospect to an established NFL veteran can get dicey, but it’s clear that Johnson has strived to eventually be in those same shoes as some of the greats. Fisher spoke on Johnson’s interest in his accomplished players, and it will only be a matter of time before he himself gets his chance at building his own NFL resume.

“But that’s interesting you say that because he would come and ask me about those guys. Hey what was he like? What did he do? How much work did he put in? To try to gauge, which I really appreciated, because it showed you he had a great interest in that. And to compare guys, I mean they’re all similar and different in their own ways. But Derwin’s as good as there is in the NFL and I think Antonio, he’s gotta go to the NFL and do it, but he’s going to have a heck of a chance to be one heck of a player, I really believe that,” Fisher said.