If the NFL preseason were an Olympic event, Patrick Johnson would have long earned himself a gold medal. The Philadelphia Eagles drafted him 234th overall during Round 7 of the 2021 NFL Draft, but during his first stint, he was relegated to special teams duty.
It isn’t like Johnson can’t ball. He has shown he is capable of making plays when given opportunities, but he usually has fallen victim to the numbers game and being buried on the depth chart.
On September 16, 2024, Philadelphia waived him, initially ending his time with the organization. The rival New York Giants picked him up one day later, but he has since come home, signing a one-year deal with the Birds on March 14.
He’s seemingly the same guy we remember. He’s someone who makes plays whenever he steps on the playing surface, but is criminally undervalued and taken for granted.
A Monday practice session that followed a Saturday afternoon preseason game was punctuated by select players meeting with the Philadelphia media. Matt Pryor, Jakorian Bennett, Mac McWilliams, and Johnson were all made available. Based on what we’re hearing from Mr. Johnson, he has no intention of his second Eagles stint ending prematurely.
Really hoping Patrick Johnson makes the Eagles’ roster. All he does is make plays when given an opportunity pic.twitter.com/TABlVVQyCD
— Geoffrey A Knox ‘GQ’ (@GQ_4_Eva) August 18, 2025
The resume is well-known. He’s a great special teams player who once saved the day vs. the Baltimore Ravens, stripping the ball during a quarterback sack. That set up Jake Elliott’s go-ahead field goal.
Elliott had missed a go-ahead attempt one play earlier. Johnson’s effort was quickly forgotten because the game didn’t count towards the win-loss total.
This time around, we have seen him come up with more magic. In the preseason debut, he tipped an interception to himself. He stopped another play behind the line of scrimmage for an 11-yard loss in the second game.
Fingers are crossed that Philadelphia keeps him. After all, the goal is always to put the best roster together, and there isn’t another team in the NFL that has a guy this low on their depth chart with this much talent.
Johnson has a Zack Baun quality to him. All he needs is a chance and a genuine opportunity. It’s doubtful he won’t prove himself worthy of recognition if he is given one.
Regardless of what happens during final roster cuts, he won’t earn much time playing on the Eagles defense. That means his opportunity probably won’t come in Philadelphia, and that’s a shame because the Birds truly have something special here.
This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Patrick Johnson makes his intentions for his second Eagles stint known
