New York DE Jermaine Johnson II pushed for Jets to draft college teammate QB Jordan Travis: 'It's a perfect situation'

Two years ago, Jermaine Johnson II was in Las Vegas for the 2022 NFL Draft, where he ultimately was drafted by the New York Jets at No. 26 after they traded up for the defensive end.

This year, he got to watch a former teammate of his join him in Green and Black, which came after his own urging.

Johnson and Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis played together for a year in Tallahassee before the former declared for the 2022 NFL Draft, and Johnson’s belief in the talent of his former QB was so strong that with Travis going through the pre-draft process this spring, Johnson reached out to head coach Robert Saleh to advocate for picking up his former teammate.

“I mean just knowing [him], I texted coach Saleh and I was just like, ‘Dude, we need Jordan Travis,’ like, we need him, it’s a perfect situation for us, perfect situation for him,” Johnson said.

New York followed through Saturday when the Jets traded up to draft Travis, getting him at No. 171 overall in the fifth round to reunite the two former Seminoles on the Jets roster.

Travis spent five seasons at Florida State and, in 2023, led his team to a 11-0 record before he suffered a season-ending leg injury in November. Though he missed the Seminoles’ final game, he still finished with 2,756 yards, 20 touchdowns and just two interceptions and won ACC Player of Year

“I watched the game where he had gotten injured, and my heart just shattered because he was having like, the last two years of tape he put together was like, some of the most dynamic quarterback play I’ve seen in college,” Johnson said. “I know how the draft goes, I know how all that stuff goes, so I was like, dang, it definitely hurt him, but I know he can still ball, and obviously he’s still healing up at an awesome rate. I’ve seen the videos, he’s sending me videos, I’m encouraging him and whatnot, so I have no doubt in my mind that he’s going to get back to who he is and even progress from there.”

Travis will come onto the roster still in the midst of recovery from his injury — he’s expected to be healed by training camp — and is presumed to be the third-string QB once he is fully recovered, behind starter Aaron Rodgers and Tyrod Taylor.

In Johnson’s opinion, the setup will benefit all parties involved, as there’s a lot a rookie can learn from two of the more experienced QBs around, with a combined 32 seasons between Rodgers and Taylor.

“He gets to sit behind Tyrod and Aaron and learn from Tyrod’s perspective and Aaron’s perspective, and then also I mean they have a killer quarterback just in the stable learning from those guys,” Johnson said. “So it’s good for everybody and I just thought it was perfect for both sides, so why not, and sure enough when the opportunity came around they grabbed him.”