Auburn Football: Kerryon Johnson declares for NFL Draft

The evening after the Auburn Tigers were upset by UCF in the Peach Bowl, star tailback Kerryon Johnson declared his eligibility for the NFL Draft.

Star Season

The news comes after a 2017 campaign that saw Johnson win SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors. He finished the year with 1,391 yards on the ground, along with 18 touchdowns. He added two scores on 194 yards through the air.

Those numbers came despite the fact that he missed two games with a hamstring injury early in the year. Johnson was also rendered ineffective in the SEC Championship game after suffering a shoulder injury late in the upset win over rival Alabama.

Auburn Tiger Legacy

Johnson had a productive and progressive three seasons on the plains. Each season, he gained Gus Malzahn’s trust and became a bigger part of the offense.

In 2015, he gained 208 yards on 52 attempts, followed by 895 yards on 182 attempts in ‘16. It was his aforementioned ’17 campaign that solidified as one in a long line of great Auburn tailbacks.

Johnson now ranks fifth among rushing touchdowns at Auburn, behind only Carnell Williams, Joe Cribbs, Tre Mason and Heisman winner Bo Jackson.

This season, he became the eleventh back since 2009 to rush for 1,000 yards for the Tigers.

Pro Prospects

Given his injury issues, Johnson made the right decision to enter the NFL Draft. Despite that, his timing is relatively unfortunate.

This is one of the best draft classes at the running back position the league has seen in a long time. Some of the bigger names include Saquon Barkley, Derrius Guice, Bryce Love, Ronald Jones, Nick Chubb, Josh Adams, Myles Gaskin and Royce Freeman.

At best, Johnson likely sits right around the middle of that pack. Barkley, Love and Guice are undoubtedly the top three, and most experts have Chubb and Freeman ahead of Johnson as well.

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It will certainly be interesting to see where Johnson goes come April. However, there is no doubt that he has left his mark as an SEC tailback.