Desjuan Johnson landed in a fantastic situation with the Los Angeles Rams as the final pick in the 2023 NFL draft. Not only did he join a team that desperately needs defensive line help after letting Greg Gaines and A’Shawn Robinson leave, but he’s now teammates with Aaron Donald.
Johnson said previously that he watched Donald a lot in college, hoping to learn a thing or two from the future Hall of Famer. He no longer has to watch film of Donald because he has a front-row seat to the show Aaron puts on every day in practice and on game days.
“I’ve been trying to be like a sponge, just trying to learn everything I can from him on the field and off the field,” Johnson said on NFL Network. “Throughout college, I tried to model my game like him so everything he did, I was trying to do in college. But now I get to do everything right next to him. It’s not like I’m saying, ‘Oh, what is Aaron Donald doing?’ No, I’m sitting here watching what Aaron Donald’s doing. So, just taking notes, taking everything he does on the field and off the field.”
Johnson won’t be assured a spot on the 53-man roster, even though he was drafted by the Rams. He’ll need to earn a place on the team, battling with others such as Jonah Williams, Earnest Brown IV, Larrell Murchison and T.J. Carter.
Johnson’s clearest path to playing time in 2023 is as a backup to Donald at defensive tackle, seeing as they play the same position and are almost the same size. Both are about 285 pounds and don’t have the length that many teams covet along the defensive line, but Johnson is powerful and tough up front, similar to the way Donald is. He obviously doesn’t have the same level of quickness that Donald does because, well, no one does, but Johnson has potential as a pro.
