James-Michael Johnson: 6 Biggest Strengths and Weaknesses of 2012 NFL Draft Pro

There are always players who make scouts stand up and take notice when it comes to the small schools in college football.

There as Darrell Green and David Kreig and even Phil Simms. The NFL draft is not an exact science, but if there are players out there with talent, scouts seem to have a way of finding them.

James-Michael Johnson may be one of those players.

While at Nevada, which is not the "small" school out in the woods, he played well and impressed NFL scouts. And while he did not play against the Alabama's of the world, he did prove that he could handle himself against good talent.

When it comes to being drafted in Thursday's NFL draft, he going to have to do better than "good" in fact, he will have to be "great."

Here are some strengths and weaknesses of the inside linebacker looking to make the jump from the western part of the country to the NFL. Information obtained in this review was taken from sidelinescouting.com.

Good Read and React Player

If that is a comparison of the way he plays, then let's hope it was Connor from his days at Miami.

He does a good job of looking at the quarterback and watching him before the play is snapped.

He has great focus and is especially good at underneath coverage.

Versatility

He has experience at both inside and outside linebacker positions, versatility and experience could be big selling point in the draft.

That may be the most important part of him being drafted. The more a "smaller school" player can do on the field, the more likely he is to get noticed.

This also means he can cover faster receivers or tight ends across the middle on passing routes.

He Knows How to Tackle

According to the report, Johnson "can tackle with a lot of pop, is a good wrap-up tackler who has the ability to drag down larger backs or jar the ball loose at contact."

If he is a ball hawk, and can play consistently against the run, that helps with another facet of the game. Tackling is a lost art form today in the NFL. Most players try for easy takedowns or to push players out of bounds.

Johnson seems to like contact.

He Needs to Be More Athletic

He is 6'1" and 244 pounds and has a lot of upper body strength, but he is not an elite athlete. He will need to work on his skill level and improve on trying not to overpower blockers instead of hitting at the point of attack.

The NFL (like has been stated in many of these reviews) is a league that is bigger, stronger and faster and players will overcome poor execution with flat out speed and power.

Needs to Remain Focused

Johnson is great at reading a quarterback underneath in packages, but sometimes he is caught out of position.

He also can "get caught peeking in the backfield and get too easily blocked away from plays, allows blockers into his pads too often." 

He also sometimes takes on blocks with the wrong shoulder giving up gap responsibility allowing for big play.

Will Have to Increase His Ceiling in the NFL

He is not an elite player, so his "ceiling" or potential level may be limited.

That does not mean he will not be a good player, but as the scouting report said, Johnson is "not a unique player in any particular area of the game."

We have seen other players who were drafted in the late rounds or were free agents and have truly excelled. He could also be one of them.