Austin Johnson (defensive lineman)

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Austin Johnson
Galloway, New Jersey, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:314 lb (142 kg)
Career information
High school:St. Augustine Preparatory School
(Richland, New Jersey)
College:Penn State
NFL draft:2016 / Round: 2 / Pick: 43
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Pass deflections:
10
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Austin Hunter Johnson (born May 8, 1994) is an

2016 NFL Draft
.

Early years

Johnson was born in

Larry Johnson, who convinced him not only to commit to Penn State, but to keep his commitment after crippling sanctions were announced in wake of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal, as well as the arrival of new coach Bill O'Brien.[1]

College career

"An unheralded prep player from New Jersey who spent as much time on the basketball court as the football field," Johnson

defensive line, establishing himself as a candidate to start opposite DaQuan Jones, Penn State's star defensive tackle that season.[2] Mentored by Larry Johnson, Jones, and Jordan Hill, Austin Johnson proved himself early in the season, and earned a spot in the rotation at defensive tackle with Jones and Kyle Baublitz.[1] At the conclusion of the 2013 season, he was named a member of the freshman all-conference teams by both ESPN.com, and the Big Ten Network.[3]

Entering his redshirt sophomore season firmly established on the defensive line along with converted

safeties to make plays at the line of scrimmage. Four games into Penn State's season, they had the best rush defense in the country, which Franklin attributed largely to the efforts of Johnson.[7] He is majored in business administration
at Penn State.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Coming out of Penn State, the majority of scouts and analysts projected Johnson to be a second round pick. He was invited to the

pro day to evaluate Johnson, Christian Hackenberg, Jordan Lucas, Anthony Zettel, Carl Nassib, and eight other prospects. He chose to only perform positional drills. Johnson was ranked the ninth best defensive tackle by NFLDraftScout.com and ranked the 14th best defensive tackle (80th overall) by Sports Illustrated.[8][9][10]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split
20-yard shuttle
 Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
Wonderlic
6 ft 4+3⁄8 in
(1.94 m) 		314 lb
(142 kg) 		32+3⁄4 in
(0.83 m) 		9+7⁄8 in
(0.25 m)		 5.32 s 1.86 s 3.07 s 4.75 s 7.84 s 26 in
(0.66 m)		 8 ft 3 in
(2.51 m)		 25 reps 34[11]
All values from
NFL Combine[12][13]

Tennessee Titans

The

2016 NFL Draft.[14] He was the sixth defensive tackle selected and the first of five Penn State players drafted.[15]

On May 9, 2016, the Titans signed Johnson to a four-year, $5.66 million contract with $3.02 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.31 million.[16][17]

Johnson entered training camp competing for the starting nose tackle position with Al Woods and Antwaun Woods.[18] He was named the backup nose tackle to veteran Al Woods to begin the regular season.[19]

Johnson made his NFL debut in the Titans' season opener against the Minnesota Vikings and made one tackle in the 25–16 loss. During a Week 11 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, he made two solo tackles and was credited with half a sack on Andrew Luck, as the Titans lost 24–17. On December 18, 2016, he made a season-high four combined tackles during a 19-17 road victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

As a rookie in 2016, Johnson appeared in 10 games and finished with 15 tackles and a half-sack.[20]

In the 2019 season, Johnson appeared in 16 games, starting one. He had 23 total tackles and no sacks for the first time in his career.

New York Giants

On March 30, 2020, Johnson was signed by the New York Giants.[21]

In Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams, Johnson recorded his first sack and forced fumble as a Giant during the 17–9 loss. [22]

On March 17, 2021, Johnson re-signed with the Giants.[23] He started all 17 games, recording a career-high 72 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

Los Angeles Chargers

On March 16, 2022, Johnson signed a two-year, $14 million contract with the

injured reserve on November 9, 2022.[25]

Johnson started all 17 games in 2023, recording 46 tackles, two passes defensed and a forced fumble.

Buffalo Bills

On March 28, 2024, Johnson signed a one-year contract with the Buffalo Bills.[26]

Personal life

Johnson is married to former

Lingerie Football League football league player Danika Brace
.

NFL statistics

Regular season

Year Team Games Tackling Fumbles Interceptions
GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sack FF FR Yds TD Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD
2016 TEN 10 0 14 7 7 0.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
2017 TEN 16 3 24 15 9 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
2018 TEN 16 9 22 13 9 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 2
2019 TEN 16 1 23 11 12 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
2020 NYG 16 0 18 8 10 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
2021 NYG 17 17 72 31 41 3.5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
Career 91 30 173 85 88 7.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 7

Postseason

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sack Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF FR Yds TD
2017 TEN 2 1 4 2 2 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2019 TEN 3 0 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 5 1 5 3 2 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

References

  1. ^ a b Juliano, Joe (October 2, 2013). "Penn State's Johnson happy he chose football". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on July 6, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  2. The Patriot News. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
    . Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  3. ^ "Eight Nittany Lions earn All-Big Ten honors from ESPN.com and BTN.com". GoPSUSports.com - Penn State Official Athletic Site. Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. December 16, 2013. Archived from the original on July 6, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  4. ^ Snyder, Audrey (April 30, 2014). "Man in the middle: Penn State DT Austin Johnson continues coming into his own". The Patriot News. Harrisburg, PA. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  5. ^ Flounders, Bob (July 21, 2014). "Breaking down Penn State's most important players: No. 14 DT Austin Johnson". The Patriot News. Harrisburg, PA. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  6. ^ Bodani, Frank (September 24, 2014). "Penn State's Austin Johnson is Nittany Lions' low-key game-wrecker". York Daily Record. Archived from the original on October 1, 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  7. ^ Juliano, Joe (September 27, 2014). "Penn State's Austin Johnson a terror on defense". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  8. ^ "2016 NFL Draft: Big board Top 100 prospects". si.com. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  9. ^ "*Austin Johnson, DS #9 DT, Penn State: 2016 NFL Draft". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  10. ^ "NFL Pro Day Central: Penn State". gopsusports.com. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  11. ^ McGinn, Bob (April 24, 2016). "Rating the NFL draft prospects: Defensive linemen". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022.
  12. ^ "Austin Johnson Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  13. ^ "2016 NFL Draft Scout Austin Johnson College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  14. ^ Wyatt, Jim (April 29, 2016). "Titans Target, Land Penn State DL Austin Johnson". TitansOnline.com. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  15. ^ "Austin Johnson Draft Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  16. ^ Wyatt, Jim (May 9, 2016). "Titans agree to terms with six draft picks". TitansOnline.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  17. ^ "Sportrac.com: Austin Johnson". Sportrac.com. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  18. ^ "Ourlads.com: Tennessee Titan's depth chart: 07/30/2016". ourlads.com. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  19. ^ "Ourlads.com: Tennessee Titan's depth chart: 09/29/2016". ourlads.com. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  20. ^ Wyatt, Jim (August 2, 2019). "Austin Johnson". TitansOnline.com.
  21. ^ "Reports: Giants agree to terms with DL Austin Johnson". Giants.com. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  22. ^ "New York Giants at Los Angeles Rams - October 4th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  23. ^ Eisen, Michael (March 17, 2021). "Nate Solder signs new contract, will return to Giants". Giants.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  24. ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Announce Free Agency Moves". March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  25. ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Sign Breiden Fehoko to Active Roster; Place Austin Johnson on Injured Reserve". Chargers.com. November 9, 2022.
  26. ^ "Bills sign DT Austin Johnson to one-year deal". BuffaloBills.com. March 28, 2024.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Austin Johnson.
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