The Detroit Lions will be hosting one of the top defensive prospects from the FCS level for a pre-draft visit. Missouri State DT Eric Johnson is slated to visit Lions headquarters in Allen Park in the coming days as one of the team’s 30 allotted prospect visits.
The Lions know Johnson already. He was on the American team at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, the unit the Lions coached in the annual all-star game. Johnson proved he belonged with the prospects from bigger schools with an impressive week of practices, showing off his strength and a freakishly long wingspan to wreak havoc on the interior line.
He entered college as a linebacker and was also an accomplished high school wrestler before growing into a legit NFL prospect. Johnson is a 3-tech defensive tackle, a spot where the Lions do have a positional need.
Johnson is generally projected in the fifth or sixth rounds of the 2022 NFL draft. His advanced age (he graduated high school in 2016) and limited experience against top-level competition are limiting factors in his stock.
