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Ohio State left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. declares for NFL Draft

IMG_7408by: Andy Backstrom01/10/23andybackstrom
Paris Johnson Jr. by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Ohio State offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr. started seasons at guard and tackle in his Buckeyes career. (Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

COLUMBUS — Ohio State left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. made it official Tuesday afternoon: He is declaring for this year’s NFL Draft.

“It has always been a dream of mine since I committed to The Ohio State University to leave with both my degree and a Buckeye Tree,” Johnson wrote in a statement he posted to social media. “I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to accomplish both in three years. After having several conversations with my coaches and family, I want to accomplish the first dream of mine since I was 5 years old, which is to declare for the 2023 NFL Draft.

“Thank you Buckeye nation, and to everyone who has ever given me a ride, fed me and supported my dreams. I will forever bleed Scarlet and Gray and be eternally grateful for the experience I shared here.”

Johnson became the first Ohio State offensive tackle to be crowned a consensus All-American this season since Orlando Pace got the unanimous tag in not only 1995 but also 1996.

Johnson shifted from right guard to left tackle last offseason. He made the transition look seamless. The 6-foot-6, 310-pound Johnson didn’t allow a sack in his first 11 games protecting quarterback C.J. Stroud‘s blind side. That was after he didn’t give up a sack at right guard in 2021. In other words, Johnson went more than 1,400 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, without conceding a sack.

He did, however, allow a sack in each of his final two games of his Buckeyes career: losses to Michigan and Georgia, two programs that made up half of this year’s College Football Playoff.

Johnson still ended up with just 14 pressures allowed, the same number he gave up at right guard in 2021, per PFF. Plus, his PFF pass blocking grade of 77.9 was a career high, and, for the third straight year, he logged a PFF run blocking grade (80.9) north of 80.

Johnson has made a name for himself off the field, too.

His foundation, the Paris Johnson Jr. Foundation, was the winner of this year’s Armed Forces Merit Award. Johnson created the foundation while in high school, and it has raised more than $10,000 to help veterans, student-athletes and homeless people.

Johnson is the No. 9 overall 2023 NFL Draft prospect, according to ESPN’s latest consensus top-10 overall prospect rankings. Analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay have Johnson as the second-best offensive tackle on the board, behind only Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski.

Along with Dawand Jones — also a first-team All-American this season — Johnson was a linchpin for arguably the best offensive tackle tandem in the country in 2022.