San Diego Chargers: Grading Stevie Johnson Signing

It looked like Stevie Johnson was about to sign with the New England Patriots yesterday, but he actually only narrowed down the list to two teams in the Patriots and San Diego Chargers. While the Patriots remained the slight favorites to land him, the Chargers won out, as NBC’s Dianna Marie Russini reports that Johnson will sign with the team. The Chargers have since announced the signing, which is a three-year deal worth an undisclosed amount of money.

Johnson was wise to choose the Chargers over the Patriots, and it might have been foolish for him to join his old rivals despite the fact that the Pats are the defending Super Bowl champs. Since New England has plenty of pass-catching depth in Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, Brandon LaFell, Danny Amendola, Tim Wright, Aaron Dobson, Scott Chandler, Brian Tyms, and Brandon Gibson (among others), Johnson wouldn’t have been guaranteed a roster spot out of training camp.

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Like New England, San Diego doesn’t hand out roster spots, but it’s clear that Johnson is a safe bet to be a significant contributor. Financial details like guaranteed money need to be closely examined before fully judging a deal and the intent of its signers, but the reported three-year pact between both sides shows that the Chargers believe he can be a big part of their offense. After all, they chose him over other impending free agent WRs, such as fellow former San Francisco 49ers wideout Michael Crabtree.

Box score stats rarely ever tell the whole story at the wide receiver position, and Johnson’s middling 35 receptions for 435 yards and three touchdowns last season don’t do justice to the impact he had on the 49ers offense when he was targeted. Though he received just 50 targets in his lone season with the team, Johnson led the squad with a 70% catch rate and an excellent 8.7 yards per target. When looking at the rate stats, Johnson unequivocally bounced back from his disappointing 2013 campaign, which was largely the result of injury.

Given how much Vernon Davis and Crabtree struggled last season, Johnson’s efficiency was a welcome addition to the team. Per Pro Football Focus, he dropped just two passes last year, and Colin Kaepernick had a 102.0 QB Rating when targeting the former three-time 1,000-yard wide receiver. That streak of three straight seasons of 70-catch, 1,000-yard, six-TD football is a reminder that Johnson was once viewed as a No. 1-type in this league.

In all honesty, Johnson is a No. 2 receiver at best, but that’s perfectly fine for the Chargers. With Keenan Allen, Antonio Gates, Malcom Floyd, Dontrelle Inman, Danny Woodhead, and Ladarius Green, the Chargers weren’t looking for the best receiver possible. Allen showed in a sensational rookie season that he can be a true No. 1 wideout, but we also saw last year that he needs more help in the form of a true No. 2 receiver.

Philip Rivers is one of the most accurate quarterbacks and excels at finding the open man, so the “quantity and versatility” approach, similar to what the Patriots do, suits him well. The problem is that even though the Chargers weren’t desperate for wide receiver help after losing Eddie Royal, they did lack quality at the position last season with Royal.

Let’s be real here, would you really trust Inman, Jacoby Jones, and Austin Pettis to be true No. 3 receivers for Rivers? Do you really want to see Allen’s impact constrained due to facing an inordinate amount of coverage?

The Chargers have their eyes set on a deeper playoff run after making it to the postseason in Mike McCoy‘s first season and just missing out on the playoffs last year. In order to do that, they need to aggressively make upgrades where they are lacking, and they did a fantastic job of doing that on the offensive line by re-signing King Dunlap and adding ace G/T Orlando Franklin.

Stevie Johnson fits the bill as an aggressive upgrade on offense, because they can now feel infinitely more comfortable with a WR trio of Allen, Johnson, and Floyd. The Chargers base their offense on horizontally spreading the field and using the versatility of their pass-catchers, so why wouldn’t you want a a near-guaranteed, solid contributor on offense to minimize the risk of the younger guys busting out?

Sep 21, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Steve Johnson (13) makes a catch against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

There’s a reason why the Patriots showed interest in Johnson despite their depth at WR and the fact that he’s said not-so-nice things about the team in the past: he’s perfect for an intermediate passing-based offense.

Johnson is one of the smoother route-runners in the NFL, and he’s just plain good at getting open. Mainly a possession receiver, Johnson also consistently averaged 13 yards per reception during his time in Buffalo and even lined up in the slot frequently enough; he can bring plenty of stuff to the table.

As long as the San Diego Chargers didn’t give much guaranteed money to Johnson, this should go down as a solid deal. It’s a nice, inexpensive, safe upgrade at WR for a team that only needed to add a quality veteran, and Johnson’s route-running-based skill-set ensures that he can be productive through the duration of the contract if he does end up lasting all three years.

The Chargers were basically deciding between Crabtree and Johnson, and I definitely don’t blame them for picking the latter. Crabtree has more upside, but he has so much more risk due to his apparent attitude concerns and his poor 2014 performance.

Meanwhile, Johnson has been regularly solid outside of a nagging injury-induced down year in 2013, and his experience and status as a safe WR made him a better fit for what the Chargers were looking for.

Final Grade: B

Next: Don't forget Pettis?

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