Is Paris Johnson, Jr. the Best Tackle in the 2023 NFL Draft?

Hogs Haven takes a look at 2023 NFL Draft prospects that could contribute to the Commanders

Paris Campbell, Jr., OT

School: Ohio State | Conference: Big Ten

College Experience: Junior | Age: 21

Height / Weight: 6’6” / 313 lbs

Projected Draft Status: 1st Round

Player Comparison: D’Brickashaw Ferguson

Player Overview

Paris Johnson, Jr. has been a standout on and off the field for a long time. He earned just about every accolade possible in the state of Ohio including top player in the state, was the No. 1 tackle in the country, and a five-star recruit. Off the field, he was in the National Honor Society, the Chinese International Honor Society (he speaks Mandarin), and he established a charity to help veterans. Johnson chose to stay home and play for the Buckeyes and saw action quickly. He started five games as a true freshman including the College Football Playoff championship game. The next year, he started every game at right guard for one of the most prolific offenses in college football. He would move over to left tackle for 2022, improving with each week of the season and ending the season as a consensus All-American. All this while majoring in journalism and writing articles for The Lantern, Ohio State’s newspaper

Strengths

• Impressive stature with incredible arm length (36 inches)
• Athletic with good lateral quickness and foot speed
• Devastating down blocker and quickly secure reach blocks
• Controls defenders with enough strength to stay attached to them
• Locates and effectively blocks players at the second level
• Little bit of nasty in his play

Weaknesses

• Needs to get stronger to drive defenders off the ball
• Ducks head on contact, losing track of rushers
• Hands are inconsistent and often wide of target
• Struggles to anchor against powerful rushers

Let’s see his work

How he fits on the Commanders

Paris Johnson, Jr. is widely considered to be the best pure left tackle in this draft because of an enticing mix of size and athleticism. But he isn’t without faults. Many of his weaknesses stem from needing to increase his strength, which has led to a few technique concerns that can be fixed with coaching and practice. He is still likely to be the first tackle off the board and a top-ten pick, but what would it look like to have Johnson on the team? Ideally, Johnson can come in and be a scheme-diverse left tackle. Although he needs to get stronger, Johnson will do battle with whomever lines across from him. If his strength concerns will take time to address, Johnson has experience playing guard and could play there until the Commanders believe he’s ready to play tackle or until the team is ready to move on from Charles Leno.