Clay
Johnston.
Clay
Johnston.
Baylor· 6'1"· 227 lb
"The Rams drafted Baylor's instinctive linebacker at No. 234 off a torn ACL, waived him in camp, and he still carved out 31 NFL games with Carolina and Cincinnati, mostly as a special teams player."Pre-draft read
Johnston was an inside linebacker in Baylor's 4-2-5, a 6-1, 227-pounder who led the defense from the middle. His primary trait was instinct against the run: he diagnosed plays quickly, filled downhill with violence and finished tackles, leading Baylor in stops in 2018 and producing eight tackles for loss in six games in 2019.
His secondary trait was physicality as a thumper and blitzer, though his coverage range was limited by average speed and short arms. His athletic ceiling was modest, and his signature was the downhill aggression of a coach's son who played with a veteran's feel for the game.
Four-man front with a two-linebacker base that lets an instinctive inside backer fill downhill against the run.
Year 1: rehab and practice squad, then core special teams player. Ceiling: backup inside linebacker and run-down starter.
Scheme that asks its linebackers to carry backs and tight ends in man coverage and cover the field sideline to sideline.
His value rested on run defense and special teams.
Baylor LB Clay Johnston Highlight Reel - 2019 Season
His second-team All-Big 12 season before the ACL tear.
II The Hardest Hitting Linebacker In The Country II Official Highlights of Linebacker Clay Johnston
Career highlight reel from Baylor.
Coach Trip W/ Bengals LB Clay Johnston
Interview from his time with Cincinnati.
Johnston projected as a tough, instinctive linebacker whose torn ACL pushed him to the final round. Evaluators saw a smart, physical run defender and team leader, the son of longtime NFL strength coach Kent Johnston, but one with modest athleticism and coverage range.
He missed time in 2017, then posted a team-high 99 tackles in 2018 by Baylor's count to earn second-team All-Big 12. In 2019 he was playing the best football of his career, with 58 tackles, eight for loss, 2.5 sacks, an interception and five pass breakups in six games, before a torn ACL ended his season; he still earned second-team All-Big 12 again. The flags were the knee, his injury history, limited speed and short arms in coverage.
Most boards graded him as a mid-round talent discounted for medicals. The Rams took him at No. 234, with their personnel staff saying they had projected him as a higher pick and planned to rehab him. They bet that a healthy Johnston would bring the instincts and toughness of a mid-round linebacker at a seventh-round price, with special teams as his first path to the roster.
- 01
Instinctive run defender
Diagnosed plays quickly and filled downhill with violence, producing eight tackles for loss in just six games in 2019.
- 02
Tackling production
Led Baylor in tackles in 2018 and was on pace for a career year in 2019 before his knee injury ended the season.
- 03
Physical thumper
Took on blockers in the hole and delivered heavy hits, bringing an enforcer's edge to the middle of the defense.
- 04
Football intelligence
Grew up around the NFL as the son of a longtime strength coach and played with a veteran's feel for offenses.
- 05
Leadership
Chosen for Baylor's single-digit jersey honor for the hardest workers, reflecting the respect he earned in the locker room.
- 01
Torn ACL
His 2019 season ended midway with a torn ACL, clouding his rookie year and dropping him to the end of the draft.
- 02
Injury history
Also missed several games in 2017, giving him two injury-shortened seasons in three years at Baylor.
- 03
Limited range
Lacked the speed to run with backs and tight ends in man coverage or cover much ground as a sideline-to-sideline player.
- 04
Short arms
At 30.5 inches his arms were short for the position, making it harder to shed blockers and disrupt passing lanes.
— — — positional median (p50)
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- 18repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Baylor | — | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | Baylor | 8 | 54 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Baylor | — | 87 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019 | Baylor | 6 | 58 | 2.5 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Career | — | 14 | 225 | 4.5 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
Seasons from CFBTrack, including bowl games, which sum to 225 tackles, 25.5 TFL and 4.5 sacks. Baylor, the Rams and Wikipedia credit him with a team-high 99 tackles in 2018 versus CFBTrack's 87; the 2019 line matches across sources. Game counts for 2016 and 2018 are not consistently published.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
The realized outcome: a backup linebacker and special teams player.
Instinctive, physical linebacker who became a long-time starter and core special teamer.
Smart, tough linebacker limited to practice squads by his athleticism.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
The Rams waived Johnston at the end of his rookie camp in September 2020, and Carolina signed him to its practice squad days later. He was elevated for two late-season games that year, played six games for the Panthers in 2021 and then joined Cincinnati, where he appeared in seven games with one start in 2021 and 16 games in 2022. He finished with 31 NFL games, 36 tackles and a forced fumble, mostly on special teams.
In hindsight the pick returned value, just not for the Rams. The torn ACL and limited range that dropped him to No. 234 kept him from a defensive role, but the instincts, toughness and intelligence evaluators praised made him a useful special teams player for three seasons on two teams. That is a solid result for a player drafted off a major knee injury, even if it came with other franchises. His path shows how a late pick with a clear special teams identity can outlast the team that drafted him and build a career on effort and preparation.