‘It’s stressful as hell:’ Eagles relying on Fred Johnson until Jordan Mailata returns originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Fred Johnson was watching Jordan Mailata work against Myles Garrett Sunday and thinking about what that matchup would look like if Mailata got hurt and he had to go in the game and block the best edge rusher on the planet.
Johnson and Garrett played in the same division when Johnson was with the Bengals and Garrett was with the Browns, so Big Fred understands the challenge of blocking Garrett as well as anybody.
“I mean, 95 is a generational athlete,” Johnson said at his locker Wednesday. “I was like, ‘If I get thrown in this game? I really gotta anchor down and stuff.’
“I was even asking if you remember me from Cincy when I played there and he was like, ‘Yeah,’ and I was like, ‘OK cool,’ so maybe I’m doing something right a little bit.”
When Mailata left the game Sunday, he caught Johnson’s eye as he headed out to the field for what turned out to be the DeVonta Smith touchdown drive.
“Even when he went down, he was walking off the (field) and he just looked at me and gave me a wink,” Johnson said. “I was like, ‘OK, I’m pretty much there.’ He’s a dude who has faith in me and has confidence in me as a player and as his teammate.
“I’ve been here some time. My job is to execute when lane or Jordan is out, so that’s what I’m here to do.”
Johnson hung in against Garrett and even blocked him – without help – on Jalen Hurts’ game-clinching 40-yard pass to A.J. Brown in the final minutes.
“Fred stepped up phenomenally on Sunday,” Kellen Moore said. “Even on the last play, he’s 1-on-1 with 95 and there’s a risk component associated with that, and he did an excellent job.”
Mailata, who was playing at an all-pro level at left tackle, is out for multiple weeks with a hamstring injury he suffered in the fourth quarter Sunday. Johnson, who just finished subbing at right tackle when Lane Johnson missed the Bucs game with a concussion, played the final 13 snaps against the Browns.
Although the Eagles have the option of moving Mekhi Becton to left tackle and starting Tyler Steen at right guard, it looks like Johnson will make his first start at left tackle since 2020 Sunday when the Eagles face the Giants and their top-rated pass rush at MetLife.
What’s it like always being ready to play either left or right tackle at a moment’s notice?
“I mean, it’s stressful as hell,” he said with a laugh. “I mean, you’ve been told you’ve got to perform open heart surgery at like at a drop of a dime, like in two hours or in 30 seconds, you know?
“It’s stressful, but, you know, these guys here, Stout (and) Sirianni, they give us all the best looks and all the best preparation for things, and you’ve got to be ready for any moment.”
Johnson started eight games in his three seasons with the Bengals, including seven at left tackle in 2019 an d 2020 and one at right tackle in 2021. He also played some guard with the Bengals and also during his brief stint with the Bucs in 2022.
Asked what he learned from that experience, he said: “Don’t do what I did in Cincy and give up sacks and stuff. Don’t be at guard. And just basically try to execute better. Like be more technique-wise and stuff like that. Try to be very sound and be very calm and poised. That’s pretty much it.”
Needless to say, Johnson feels like he’s in a much better place now with Jeff Stoutland and the Eagles than during the early portion of his career, when he bounced around the league and was released three times by the Steelers, Bengals and Bucs.
But the Eagles need him to string together at least two quality starts and probably more at left tackle until Mailata is healthy.
“Basically just prepare to start,” he said. “If you don’t start, cool, you prepare to start. You prepare for the moment. You prepare for any wave of emotions that come. And I want emotion that wins, positivity, and let me go execute so we can win this game.”
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