cincinnatiCIN#15

Jamari Johnson

Sophomore linebacker for Cincinnati. 2026: 1 game with a box-score line.

LB · Cincinnati · So. · #15

5′10″ · 175 lb · Birmingham, AL · Pell City

How he plays

QB hurries: 35th percentile.

The full scouting read

The numbers

1

tackle · 2026 · through week 3

1 game into 2026 so far -- Best game: 1 tackles, vs Boston College

His career numbers, season by season

The story

Sophomore linebacker for Cincinnati. 2026: 1 game with a box-score line.

  • Signed as a 3-star recruit to Cincinnati in 2025.
The full story, with sources
Next upSat Sep 26 · 7 pm ETvs Kansas StateNippert StadiumKansas State by 6

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.

2026 outlook · as of 2026-09-14

The linebacker corps · Cincinnati

  1. #12Filip MaciorowskiLB · Sr.76 tackles · 2025
  2. #22Jonathan ThompsonLB · Sr.67 tackles · 2025
  3. #3Antwan Peek Jr.LB · Sr.49 tackles · 2025
  4. #31Simeon ColemanLB · Jr.39 tackles · 2025
  5. #15Jamari JohnsonLB · So.2 tackles · 2025

10 more on the roster · Cincinnati team page

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology