Third-round pick from 2009 draft was in the No. 1 RDE role for 2012, and posted career-high 11.5 sacks, almost double the 6.0 he logged in 2011 ... Sack total for 2012 was second-most by a Bengal since 1983, topped only by Geno Atkins with 12.5, also in ’12 ... Fifth in AFC and tied for ninth in NFL in sacks ... Named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in Sept. 23 win at Washington ... Has played in every game of his Bengals career, increasing his contribution each year ... Has seen action at LB as well as at DE in pro career, but did not play LB in ’12.
CAREER TRANSACTIONS: Selected by Cincinnati in third round of 2009 NFL Draft (70th overall) ... Signed with Bengals on 7-29-09.
2012 GENERAL: Played in all 16 games, with 15 starts at RDE (Games 1-13 and 15-16) ... Also started in Wild Card playoff ... Second on D-line in tackles (70) and had an INT, a fumble recovery and three passes defensed ... Third on team in both QB pressures (25) and tackles-for-loss (seven).
AFC’S BEST: Johnson was named by NFL as AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance Sept. 23 at Washington ... Recorded a career-high three sacks for 17 yards against Robert Griffin III ... Also credited by coaches with five additional QB pressures and led line with seven tackles overall (six solo).
2012 GAME-BY-GAME: His three tackles Sept. 16 vs. Cleveland included a five-yard sack of Brandon Weeden, and he recovered a Chris Ogbonnaya fumble at Browns 43 in second quarter ... Three tackles Oct. 7 vs. Miami, including three-yard sack of Ryan Tannehill ... Three tackles Oct. 14 at Cleveland, and intercepted a deflected Brandon Weeden pass in first quarter, setting up a TD ... Led D-Line in tackles (seven) Oct. 21 vs. Pittsburgh, and had a sack of Ben Roethlisberger ... Second on team in tackles (seven) Nov. 18 at Kansas City, with one sack of Brady Quinn and four QB pressures ... Four tackles Nov. 25 vs. Oakland, including six-yard sack of Carson Palmer ... Four tackles Dec. 9 vs. Dallas, including a shared sack of Tony Romo for 14-yard loss ... Four tackles Dec. 13 at Philadelphia, including one for-loss, and three additional QB pressures ... Personal season-high 10 tackles (led D-line and second on team) in playoff-clinching win Dec. 23 at Pittsburgh, including an eight-yard sack of Roethlisberger ... Three tackles Dec. 30 vs. Baltimore, including two sacks — one of Joe Flacco and one of Tyrod Taylor ... Five tackles in Wild Card playoff 1-5-13 at Houston.
PREVIOUS SEASONS: 2009—Increased his role as his rookie season progressed and led D-line in passes defensed (five), including key PD in win over Detroit ... Tied for seventh in special teams tackles (seven) ... Had his first entry in sacks column Nov. 8 vs. Baltimore, when he teamed with DE Jonathan Fanene on a fourth-down, fourth-quarter drop of Joe Flacco to seal victory ... In win Nov. 15 at Pittsburgh, aided strong pass rush with two QB pressures on Ben Roethlisberger, including one on Pittsburgh’s final play to help force an incompletion ... On Dec. 6 vs. Detroit, deflected a Matt Stafford pass that DE Jonathan Fanene intercepted for 45-yard TD, tying score at 7-7 in second quarter ... Also vs. Detroit, had his first solo sack, a nine-yarder against Stafford ... In division-clinching win Dec. 27 vs. Kansas City, had eight-yard sack of Matt Cassel and a fourth-quarter pass defensed to force a punt ... Tied for special teams tackles lead (two) in Wild Card playoff 1-9-10 vs. N.Y. Jets.
2010—Switched from DE to LB for start of season, but resumed seeing DE action when starters were out with injuries ... Had 10 starts at DE for the year, including the last eight games ... Led team in tackles for loss (eight), second in QB pressures (17), and tied for front-seven lead in passes defensed (four) ... Combined with DT Geno Atkins to sack Joe Flacco for four-yard loss Sept. 19 vs. Baltimore, helping stall last Ravens comeback bid ... On Dec. 12 at Pittsburgh, led line with eight tackles, including a sack, and his five QB pressures tied Bengals individual game high for season ... Seven tackles (tied for team lead), a sack and a QB pressure 1-2-11 at Baltimore.
2011—Totaled 51 tackles in regular season, and also had a forced fumble, a recovered fumble and an INT ... Fourth on team in QB pressures (11) and third in tackles-for-loss (eight) ... Led front-seven in passes defensed (six) ... Was first of two Bengals in 2011 to log an entry in every column of defensive stat sheet (tackles, sacks, passes defensed, INTs, forced fumbles and fumble recoveries) ... In win Sept. 11 at Cleveland, had team’s first INT of season in fourth quarter and tied for team lead in total passes defensed (three) ... Had seven tackles Sept. 18 at Denver, including a sack and forced fumble against Kyle Orton ... Had a nine-yard sack of Curtis Painter on Oct. 16 vs. Indianapolis, and also recovered a first-quarter fumble from Colts TE Dallas Clark ... Seven tackles in key win Dec. 4 at Pittsburgh, including eight-yard sack and two tackles for loss ... Five tackles Dec. 11 vs. Houston, including four for losses, along with 1.5 sacks and a pass defensed ... One tackle in Wild Card playoff 1-7-12 at Houston.
COLLEGE: Played 49 games over four seasons (2005-08) at Georgia Tech ... Team captain as a senior, he broke into starting lineup, and his nine sacks helped him earn first-team All-America honors from American Football Coaches Association ... Though he played only one year as a starter, he finished career as a significant playmaker, with 19 sacks, 10 forced fumbles, three blocked FGs and 30.5 tackles for loss ... Posted 17.5 of his tackles for loss as a senior starter.
PERSONAL: Hometown is Selma, Ala. ... Attended Dallas County High School, playing DE and TE, and as a senior, he caught 42-for-650 with six TDs while adding 92 tackles with 14 sacks ... Also an outstanding prep basketball player, averaging 16 points and 10 rebounds as a junior ... Hobbies include playing spades and basketball ... Enjoys community work with children’s causes, and has started a foundation, the MJ93 Fund, a component fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
