Big Board Ranking: #34
Positional Ranking: #4
Overview
Position: WR
College: TCU
Class: Junior
Age: 21
Measurables
Height: 6’2 3/4”
Weight: 208 lbs.
Arm length: 33 5/8″
Hand size: 9 5/8″
Athletic testing
40-yard dash: N/A
10-yard split: N/A
Vertical jump: 40.5″
Broad jump: 134.0″
Bench press: N/A
3-cone drill: N/A
Short shuttle: N/A
Strengths
Alien-like size. Long strider with great speed. Very fluid body movements. Excellent feet and acceleration for a bigger wideout. Terrific release footwork. Able to win inside on quick slants or outside to get vertical. Fast running routes. Quickly throttles in and out of breaks. Smooth breaking down on stop routes. Very sharp and effective on both in-breaking and out-breaking routes. Mostly ran a vertical route tree but has the skillset to do more. Knows how to stack opponents to get downfield. Impressive stop-and-go move. Does a superb job tracking the ball over either shoulder. Very good ability to reach down and haul in low throws. Exceptional on-the-ground body control. Ideal pacing/patience on drag routes and crossers. High intelligence and great finding open space if the initial route is covered. Used on quick screens to get the ball in his hands. Rare elusiveness for his size. Outstanding juke move and able to make multiple defenders miss. Strong after the catch. Mostly lined up on the left side but has seen snaps in the slot. Quality blocker on the perimeter. Was open for decent gains at least a couple of times versus Georgia in CFP National Championship but the ball didn’t go his way (2022).
Weaknesses
Underwhelming above-the-rim ability considering his size. Never seems to high-point the ball. Jump balls are caught low as body catches. Does not attack the ball with his hands. Needs to be more aggressive to take advantage of his size. Hands are inconsistent. Doesn’t time his leaps well and will often only get one hand on a high pass. Had some struggles getting open against close press coverage versus Georgia in CFP National Championship (2022).
NFL comparison
Martavis Bryant
Conclusion
Overall, Johnston is a unique, field-stretching wide receiver that doesn’t play up to his size but can still be a dangerous big-play threat at the next level. While the skillset will likely get him drafted on Day 1, teams shouldn’t expect Johnston to be a jump-ball winner on the perimeter.