The War Room: Jarrett Johnson, DT, Alabama 
Defensive Tackle
Jarrett Johnson
College: Alabama
Year: Senior
Height: 6’4"
Weight: 288
Birthday: August 14, 1981
Strengths: A starter since his freshman year, Jarrett Johnson is quite possibly the fastest defensive tackle in the nation, literally and figuratively. On the football field, he’s a gamer, one of those guys that coaches and teammates love and John Madden waxes poetically about. His motor runs nonstop from whistle to whistle. He also runs a 4.85/40; impressive when you consider not too many defensive tackles log sub 5 times.
He’s not the biggest kid on the field, or the most athletic, but Johnson makes plays. In his career, he’s recorded 39 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, totaling 261 lost yards. Last year, the Tide named him team captain after he started every game as a sophomore.
Areas for Concern: Johnson’s not prototypically big and lacks measurable intangibles (beyond his speed and quickness). He’s one of those guys who gets things done, but doesn’t do so in a SportCenter kind of way; i.e. he’s not real flashy.
And teams can neutralize him with a double-team; not necessarily stop him, but it’s something he struggles with because he lacks the natural strength and instincts to fight them off.
How Would He Look in Steel Blue? Iffy. Johnson compares favorably to Rocky Calmus, though they don’t play the same position. Calmus was one of those guys who wasn’t very pretty, but always seemed to be making big plays. Johnson has a lot of that in him; he’s around the ball a lot, even from his inside position.
Unfortunately, he’s not the type of lane-clogging linemen the Texans seem to covet; in fact, he’d likely have trouble with two-gap assignments and containing the run. At this point, he projects to be a late round pick, possibly near the end of day one, but doesn’t quite fit the Texans’ bill.
(profile written by Ric Sweeney)
Jarrett Johnson’s 2001 Stats G TCK TFL SKS FF FR 11 54 5 9 2 0 
Jarrett Johnson 
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