Jamari Johnson put up 510 yards as Oregon's second tight end. Now the starter's gone to the NFL, and the 6-5, 257-pound weapon who moves like a receiver gets the lead role he passed on the draft to claim.
Even behind NFL-bound Kenyon Sadiq, Johnson produced — 32 catches, 510 yards, three touchdowns, and a fifth-place finish in PFF's tight-end wins-above-average. At 6-5, 257, scouts describe "prototype size with the movement skills of a wide receiver," the modern flex-tight-end build. He forwent the draft to step into Oregon's featured role. The forward stakes are a Mackey-contender season: he was already efficient as a complementary piece, and a full lead-role workload in a high-powered Oregon offense is the runway to All-America production. The talent and the fit are aligned; 2026 is the volume.
How he plays
Johnson is a move-tight-end in the modern mold — big enough to block, fluid enough to run the routes of a receiver. The scouting consensus is the through-line: "prototype size with the movement skills of a wide receiver" at 6-5, 257, and a top-five PFF wins-above-average grade that says he was already one of the most valuable tight ends in the country as a secondary option. He's a matchup piece — too quick for linebackers, too big for safeties — and the projection is simple: hand a player this efficient the lead role and the targets multiply. The growth is opportunity, not ability.
