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Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck spoke with media members on a Zoom conference this morning. He talked at length about safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and wide receiver Tyler Johnson. Winfield may be picked in the first round of tonight's NFL Draft. He would become the first Minnesota player selected in the first round since running back Laurence Maroney in 2006 (No. 21 - New England Patriots).
Johnson, one of the most productive wide receivers in Gopher football history, is likely a third-round target. You can check out my NFL Draft Top 200 Big Board by clicking here.
Fleck provided comments on both players, including how each of them will transition to the NFL.
P.J. Fleck on what an NFL team is getting when they select Antoine Winfield Jr.:
“They’re getting a relentless football player with an incredibly high IQ. He’s a lot in a little frame. Everybody talks about his frame, but I think that’s what gives him an advantage. You’re getting a linebacker-type tackler. You’re getting a corner coverage person. And then, you’re getting a wide receiver with the catch radius and the catch-ability. So you’re getting all of those things. Then you’re getting, I think, one of the smartest players we had on our football team. To be able to play football at an incredibly high level. To take his 4.4 speed and be able to play at that type of speed.
He’s obviously got NFL bloodlines, but just because you have NFL bloodlines, [it] doesn’t make you a great NFL player. He’s got natural instincts, he’s so agressive and he’s so instinctual. And he loves the game. They’re getting a great teammate. He’s gonna love the game, play the game the right way. Respect his teammates. One thing people don’t ever talk about enough is respecting the organization. Respecting his head coach, respecting his GM, his owner, the reputation of the organization. They’re getting a gem, that’s for sure.”
P.J. Fleck on the staff's contact with NFL teams and whether he thinks Winfield Jr. can sneak into the first round:
“Absolutely we’ve had more contact with NFL GMs, head coaches, position coaches. Any time you have somebody that’s flirting with the first round, you’re going to have a lot of contact with those people. I think this is going to be something that we set for the future, that we’ll always have things like this now. But I think everybody knows what they know about Antoine. The more and more I talk to other people and I get people that call me, what they have is pretty spot on. They have some questions, but what they have is spot on. They know exactly what we just talked about. What they’re getting.
The best way I described him is what I said, you’re getting a linebacker when he tackles, you’re getting a corner when he covers, you’re getting a wideout when he catches. And then you’re getting one of the most instinctual football players in college football. Ten years down the road, people are really going to kind of look back and say, ‘boy, how did we miss on Antoine Winfield Jr.?,’ if they don’t take him sooner. I really believe that. I think he’s a really special player. He’s a once-in-a-decade type player that comes along because he has it all.
And to be as productive as he’s been. That’s the one thing people forget about. He’s so productive. It’s not like you’re selling him. He’s a first-team All-American, he’s All-Big Ten, he’s the Defensive Back of the Year in the Big Ten - he’s very productive. And he’s got great bloodlines. I think if you could predict the NFL Draft, I think none of us would be doing the jobs we’re doing.
I would not be surprised if he went in the first round. I would not be surprised. The first round always has mock drafts and everybody feels like they have that slotted, and then, boom, after the first three picks, that goes away. I could see him in the first round. I think he's first round worthy. I do believe that. It just has to come down to a team’s needs have to line up also with the best available. When you’re talking about possibly a pick between 20 and 30 or 32 in the first round, there are a lot of things that come into play. There’s best available, there’s need, there’s teams that believe in just need only. There’s teams that believe in just best available only, no matter what the position is. It depends on what the team’s philosophies are. It depends on what their needs are and obviously where the cards fall prior to him being drafted and how far that either moves people down and moves him down, or moves people up and moves him up, or vice versa.”
P.J. Fleck on the skills of wide receiver Tyler Johnson and his impact in the local community:
“Here’s the thing I’ll say about Tyler Johnson. Every scout that came in, I compared him to a Mohamed Sanu type player. And I hate comparisons because immediately you’re talking about what somebody is not. Tyler Johnson is one of the best football players in the country. Period. He’s one of the best wide receivers in the country. Period. He has been nothing but awesome for me and he’s been nothing but awesome for this entire program, the state of Minnesota, the city of Minneapolis, and the Twin Cities area. North Minneapolis and everything he’s done when he’s walked into it, he’s changed it. He’s a change agent. The one thing people just keep talking about his speed, his speed, his speed, which is the same thing [people said] when I coached Mohamed Sanu. Everybody talked about Mohamed Sanu and now here his, I don’t know what year here is, six or seven, and he’s on his second, almost third deal by now. So he’s making tons of strides.
[Johnson] is incredibly productive. He can work in space really well. He can play outside, inside, controls his body really well, can go up and get the 50/50 balls. [He] can play underneath, can play intermediate, can play over the top. He does a great job of understanding body position. But again, he’s only going to keep getting better. I think that’s what people have to realize, too. That this guy is not even maxed out yet. He’s going to keep getting better. He got so much better between his junior year and senior year, it wasn’t even funny, I mean, to us. And he was productive his junior year, but last year I thought he was extremely productive in the complete game. So I think his best years are ahead of him. He’s a wonderful young man who’s got a bright future and I can’t wait to see where he goes."
Johnson, one of the most productive wide receivers in Gopher football history, is likely a third-round target. You can check out my NFL Draft Top 200 Big Board by clicking here.
Fleck provided comments on both players, including how each of them will transition to the NFL.
P.J. Fleck on what an NFL team is getting when they select Antoine Winfield Jr.:
“They’re getting a relentless football player with an incredibly high IQ. He’s a lot in a little frame. Everybody talks about his frame, but I think that’s what gives him an advantage. You’re getting a linebacker-type tackler. You’re getting a corner coverage person. And then, you’re getting a wide receiver with the catch radius and the catch-ability. So you’re getting all of those things. Then you’re getting, I think, one of the smartest players we had on our football team. To be able to play football at an incredibly high level. To take his 4.4 speed and be able to play at that type of speed.
He’s obviously got NFL bloodlines, but just because you have NFL bloodlines, [it] doesn’t make you a great NFL player. He’s got natural instincts, he’s so agressive and he’s so instinctual. And he loves the game. They’re getting a great teammate. He’s gonna love the game, play the game the right way. Respect his teammates. One thing people don’t ever talk about enough is respecting the organization. Respecting his head coach, respecting his GM, his owner, the reputation of the organization. They’re getting a gem, that’s for sure.”
P.J. Fleck on the staff's contact with NFL teams and whether he thinks Winfield Jr. can sneak into the first round:
“Absolutely we’ve had more contact with NFL GMs, head coaches, position coaches. Any time you have somebody that’s flirting with the first round, you’re going to have a lot of contact with those people. I think this is going to be something that we set for the future, that we’ll always have things like this now. But I think everybody knows what they know about Antoine. The more and more I talk to other people and I get people that call me, what they have is pretty spot on. They have some questions, but what they have is spot on. They know exactly what we just talked about. What they’re getting.
The best way I described him is what I said, you’re getting a linebacker when he tackles, you’re getting a corner when he covers, you’re getting a wideout when he catches. And then you’re getting one of the most instinctual football players in college football. Ten years down the road, people are really going to kind of look back and say, ‘boy, how did we miss on Antoine Winfield Jr.?,’ if they don’t take him sooner. I really believe that. I think he’s a really special player. He’s a once-in-a-decade type player that comes along because he has it all.
And to be as productive as he’s been. That’s the one thing people forget about. He’s so productive. It’s not like you’re selling him. He’s a first-team All-American, he’s All-Big Ten, he’s the Defensive Back of the Year in the Big Ten - he’s very productive. And he’s got great bloodlines. I think if you could predict the NFL Draft, I think none of us would be doing the jobs we’re doing.
I would not be surprised if he went in the first round. I would not be surprised. The first round always has mock drafts and everybody feels like they have that slotted, and then, boom, after the first three picks, that goes away. I could see him in the first round. I think he's first round worthy. I do believe that. It just has to come down to a team’s needs have to line up also with the best available. When you’re talking about possibly a pick between 20 and 30 or 32 in the first round, there are a lot of things that come into play. There’s best available, there’s need, there’s teams that believe in just need only. There’s teams that believe in just best available only, no matter what the position is. It depends on what the team’s philosophies are. It depends on what their needs are and obviously where the cards fall prior to him being drafted and how far that either moves people down and moves him down, or moves people up and moves him up, or vice versa.”
P.J. Fleck on the skills of wide receiver Tyler Johnson and his impact in the local community:
“Here’s the thing I’ll say about Tyler Johnson. Every scout that came in, I compared him to a Mohamed Sanu type player. And I hate comparisons because immediately you’re talking about what somebody is not. Tyler Johnson is one of the best football players in the country. Period. He’s one of the best wide receivers in the country. Period. He has been nothing but awesome for me and he’s been nothing but awesome for this entire program, the state of Minnesota, the city of Minneapolis, and the Twin Cities area. North Minneapolis and everything he’s done when he’s walked into it, he’s changed it. He’s a change agent. The one thing people just keep talking about his speed, his speed, his speed, which is the same thing [people said] when I coached Mohamed Sanu. Everybody talked about Mohamed Sanu and now here his, I don’t know what year here is, six or seven, and he’s on his second, almost third deal by now. So he’s making tons of strides.
[Johnson] is incredibly productive. He can work in space really well. He can play outside, inside, controls his body really well, can go up and get the 50/50 balls. [He] can play underneath, can play intermediate, can play over the top. He does a great job of understanding body position. But again, he’s only going to keep getting better. I think that’s what people have to realize, too. That this guy is not even maxed out yet. He’s going to keep getting better. He got so much better between his junior year and senior year, it wasn’t even funny, I mean, to us. And he was productive his junior year, but last year I thought he was extremely productive in the complete game. So I think his best years are ahead of him. He’s a wonderful young man who’s got a bright future and I can’t wait to see where he goes."
