The Kansas City Chiefs recently hosted a defensive lineman for a top-30 visit who they previously met with at the East-West Shrine Bowl.
According to The Draft Network’s Justin Melo, the Chiefs had Toledo defensive lineman Desjuan Johnson in town for a top-30 visit. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 280 pounds, Johnson posted a highly-productive season for the Rockets in 2022, culminating in a First-Team All-MAC selection. Johnson recorded 65 total tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, 36 stops, 5.5 sacks, 42 pressures and one interception on the season.
What stands out most about Johnson is his explosive first step. During Toledo’s pro day, he posted a 1.7 10-yard split, which would have ranked second to only Pittsburgh DT Calijah Kancey at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.
.@ToledoFB DL Desjuan Johnson recently completed Top 30s with #Chiefs and #Lions, per league source. Johnson also met virtually with #Bengals and #Rams.
14.5 career sacks for Johnson who is one of my top 2023 sleepers. Johnson's @ShrineBowl Formals below https://t.co/RzelfrdHxA
— Justin M (@JustinM_NFL) April 4, 2023
His height and weight suggest that Johnson could be a bit of a tweener at the NFL level. He has the ability to play on the edge, but also positional flexibility to play in the B-Gap. In Kansas City, I suspect they’d look at him as a two-down base defensive end with the ability to reduce down to the interior on third and fourth down.
Johnson currently projects as a Day 3 draft pick or priority undrafted free agent signing. Remember, the Chiefs often use top-30 visits as a recruiting tool should high-value prospects become undrafted free agents.
