The Los Angeles Rams not only brought in safety Eric Weddle to help shore up their shaky defense, but also to provide some veteran leadership for the younger players on the roster.

Not surprisingly, Weddle has seen to taking young safety John Johnson under his wing and thinks he can be a terrific player:

“I’m here to push him to that next level. He’s got a chance to be an exceptional safety for a long time and I can see it in him,” Weddle said, according to Clarence Dennis of the Rams' official team website. “He’s got to get there, so I’ll push him every day that’s for sure.”

Johnson, who is entering his third NFL season, is thrilled to be playing alongside Weddle, and when Los Angeles first signed Weddle back in March, Johnson said he saw a little of himself in the 34-year-old:

“He’s just an all-around player, he can do it all,” Johnson said. “He blitzes, he can cover, he can play the middle post… so he can do it all — and that’s something that I like doing, I pride myself on, is doing it all.”

Weddle adds that he is pushing Johnson extra hard in the weight room:

“I know how strong he is,” Weddle said. “If we are in the weight room, I’ll tell him hey you need to put on more weight and push him in those instances, make him stay later with me and do some extra work, just little things like that. It will all carry over and all mean something at the end of the day.”

Johnson is coming off of an impressive 2018 campaign in which he racked up 119 tackles and four interceptions. He was originally selected by the Rams in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft.