Eagles sign Roderick Johnson: Fun facts (including a Florida State reunion)

The Philadelphia Eagles practice squad is back at the allowable limit of 17 players (keep in mind the fact that defensive end Matt Leo is a special roster exemption as he was added as part of the International Player Pathway Program). The new guy, offensive tackle Roderick Johnson, was announced by way of Eagles Twitter as the newest addition and slightly before lunchtime on the East Coast.

He’s well-traveled but hasn’t made his mark on the league yet, at least not to his satisfaction. He’s seen five locker rooms since being drafted by the Cleveland Browns during the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He’s appeared in 29 games with six starts over that time frame.

Johnson replaces Le’Raven Clark who was signed by the Tennessee Titans off of the Eagles roster less than 24 hours earlier. All of that covers what you may already know. Here’s a look at what you may not.

Shortly after the announcement of his addition, we dug up a few nuggets. What we found was relatively interesting.

Here are three intriguing nuggets following Roderick Johnson’s addition.

It appears that someone around the NovaCare Complex has been watching a ton of Florida State Seminoles football. Do we credit Josh Sweat for this, even if we do so minimally?

1. Roderick Johnson is now one of five Seminoles on the Eagles’ roster.

Roderick Johnson is the third former Seminole signed by the Eagles since September 7th. Auden Tate, the first, and Janarius Robinson (September 13th) are the other two. They join fellow Noles Josh Sweat and Marvin Wilson. These guys also shared time together on the football field at various points in their collegiate careers.

2. Make no mistake, there’s some talent here.

Johnson was a consensus four-star recruit coming out of high school. He was the number one prospect from the state of Missouri and the seventh-ranked offensive tackle overall. While at FSU, he won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy in 2015 before earning a First-team All-American nod in 2016. He was also a two-time First-Team All-ACC nod in 2015 and 2016.

Sure, the NFL is a different animal. Still, there’s some talent here, and no one should worry if he’s learning from Jeff Stoutland.

3. Trust Lance Zierlein’s analysis.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein gave Roderick Johnson a grade of 6.10 in 2017 meaning “he’s a good backup with the potential to develop into a starter”. His NFL comp was Morgan Moses.

The Eagles are loaded along the offensive line. No one should expect to see Johnson on the field immediately, but it’s always great to have insurance, and this young man clearly provides that. Again, Jeff Stoutland is his position coach, the best in the business, so he’s in good hands (and he has some familiar faces to rely upon). It will be interesting to see how he develops.