2020 NFL Draft: The year of the wide receiver
By Ryan Roberts
Tyler Johnson, Minnesota
Are you ready for a really high praise comparison? Well, buckle in. I am slapping Minnesota’s Tyler Johnson with a New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas comp.
Yes, that is incredibly high praise for an undervalued Gopher player but make no doubt about it, he is a special football player. Listed at 6-2 and 200 pounds, Johnson appears even taller on film with legitimate length to gain leverage against defensive backs.
He’s a guy who may never blow you away with straight-line speed or short-area quickness, but he has more than enough functional athleticism to threaten the defense on a vertical plane. What he does coming off the line of scrimmage, in and out of breaks is what makes him special. Being a longer player can potentially cause some problems getting off the line of scrimmage, particularly against press coverage. Those concerns are absent on film for Johnson.
He shows the ability to utilize multiple releases to avoid any break in momentum early in his route. Johnson possesses above-average lateral mobility that makes it extremely difficult for defenders to mirror him to the top of his route stem. This is where his ability to gain proper leverage is most evident. He is able to attack angles to make the lack of explosiveness less and less important. That gains him a roll in momentum, eventually leading to his elite route running ability.
Quite simply, Johnson is the best route runner in college football. He maintains a balanced base to the very last step of his stem, giving no tells to what route is coming. He sinks his hips without any wasted motion, accelerating quickly out of his break. Showing solid hands at the catch point, there was not much evidence of drops on tape.
While some may be worried about a lack of flash, Johnson could very well stand as the safest bet of the entire wide receiver class.