When the Jacksonville Jaguars hired James Gladstone as their general manager, he made it clear that he wanted to load up on intangibly players, tough and gritty players who love the game of football. While the Jags have done a good job of acquiring players that fit the bill, they already had plenty of them when Gladstone took over. Safety Antonio Johnson.
Once a promising rookie, Johnson is now entering Year 4 of his stint with the Jags. Aside from Eric Murray, he's one of the elders at safety. The former Texas A&M Aggie has embraced his new role at the same time he's preparing to be a playmaker for Jacksonville next season.
The Jaguars have a locker room leader in Antonio Johnson
Antonio Johnson met with the local media after Day 1 of mandatory minicamp. He said he can't believe he's now one of the elders at safety, noting that he's thrilled younger guys reach out to him.
"It's crazy because now I'm the older guy, one of the older guys in the room," Johnson said at the 4:01 mark. "Just having that confidence and having the younger guys being confident in me to come to ask questions and look at me as a leader in the room."
Johnson continued. "It's a little different, but I'm enjoying it at the same time. I just remember when I was a younger guy. I've never really been the older guy in the room since high school because there's always been older guys in the room. It's a little different, but I love it."
During the exchange, Johnson also talked about how having Anthony Campanile back is huge, pointing out that he'll benefit from the continuity on defense.
For context, Campanile garnered interest for coaching jobs after his first season as the Jaguars defensive coordinator. He was a finalist for the opening with the Arizona Cardinals but ultimately chose to return to Duval.
A sixth-round pick in 2023, Johnson showed promise at nickel as a rookie. He switched back to his more familiar safety spot the following year but struggled and was benched in favor of Darnell Savage. That put the East St. Louis, Illinois native in a position to compete for a job and maybe even a roster spot in 2025. Although he lost to Andrew Wingard, he was eventually thrust back into action.
Johnson made the most of his chances, registering a team-best five interceptions and nine passes defensed. Entering his second season under Campanile, he should have no trouble having another banner season.
Antonio Johnson has an incentive to have another big season with the Jaguars
The fact that Antonio Johnson has managed to thrive in spite of having three defensive coordinators the past three years shows just how talented he is. For the first time in his career, he'll have the same one. That continuity will help him put up exciting numbers once again. It will also help that he'll be playing for a new contract.
The issue is that Jacksonville hasn't seemingly made an effort to extend him yet, so there's a chance he could leave in 2027. The silver lining is that the Jaguars have his potential heir apparents in Jalen Huskey and Caleb Ransaw. Both of them have intriguing talent. That said, neither may be able to fill the veteran's void in leadership.
And that's the thing, Antonio Johnson is a difference-maker on and off the field, and the Jaguars will risk losing him unless they act fast.
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