Star Tight End target of the Chiefs, Texans, 49ers, and Eagles is rising after dominating the NFL Combine
Now that the NFL Combine is behind us, it's time to identify which star prospects are top potential targets for teams as the NFL Draft approaches. After spending the entire week in Indianapolis talking with 50+ players, and 30+ NFL team staff members it's time to talk through some of the top rising stars and […]
Now that the NFL Combine is behind us, it's time to identify which star prospects are top potential targets for teams as the NFL Draft approaches. After spending the entire week in Indianapolis talking with 50+ players, and 30+ NFL team staff members it's time to talk through some of the top rising stars and which teams likely draft them. Today, we're talking Theo Johnson, TE Penn State.
Johnson officially met with several teams at the NFL Combine. He confirmed that he formally met with the Chiefs, Texans, 49ers, Eagles, and a few other others during his time at the NFL Combine. Dolphins and Bengals writers I talked with mentioned informal meetings as well that went well. Johnson was a busy guy in Indianapolis, and for good reason. However, now he's garnering even more attention after absolutely dominating the NFL Combine.
As we wrote up here at A to Z Sports over the weekend, Theo Johnson posted a 95th percentile Athletic Composite Score, leading all tight ends at the NFL Combine.
His 4.57-second forty yard dash gave him the 30th fastest time since the year 2000 among all tight end prospects. His vertical and broad jumps were even more impressive at 39.5 inches and 10'5".
His Relative Athletic Score (RAS) was even more bullish thanks to Kent Lee Platte's inclusion of data going back to 1987. Johnson nearly scored as the perfect athletic specimen according to the RAS system (as you can see in the post below).
When you compare Theo Johnson to other tight ends his closest physical match is Jimmy Graham, who tested almost identically. Graham is a bit taller, but their forty times were within 0.04 seconds, and their jumps and agility scores were almost the exact same as well, with a slight edge to Johnson.
Johnson is a monster of a tight end at 6'6", 259 pounds, but when you mix in his elite NFL speed and burst it seems that teams are going to have to select him much earlier than expected if they want to procure his services.
Just this week, Jordan Reid of ESPN had the Bengals selecting Theo Johnson in round two of the NFL Draft. Dolphins, Chiefs, and Commanders media have been selecting him in rounds two and three of their mock drafts as well.
After posting back to back 300-yard receiving seasons at Penn State, scoring 11 receiving touchdowns in that span, and dominating the NFL Combine Theo Johnson likely continues to rise up NFL Draft boards. At this rate he's likely going to be the third tight end off the board behind only two-time John Mackey award winner Brock Bowers (Georgia) and Ja'Tavion Sanders (Texas).
Be looking for more team target pieces at A to Z this week as we sift through all the intel coming out of the NFL Combine. Feel free to follow me on X @FF_TravisM for more like this too. But for now, check out this A to Z Film Room video on the tight end class to learn more about other key targets for tight end needy teams.
