Free Agency Grabs: WR Charles Johnson - Was His Potential Hindered By Poor QB Play?

[Saca312]

In the flurry of moves Gettleman made last week during the first wave of free agency, he managed to grab a guy by the name of Charles Johnson. 

No, not our CJ. Minnie's CJ. Charles Johnson. 

WR Charles Johnson was a guy who seemed invisible in one of the worst offenses in the NFL. Once considered as a hopeful speedy deep threat for the Vikings, he seemed to barely contribute to anything worthwhile on that offense. After all, if you couldn't perform at a high level in one of the league's worst offenses, what says you can ever make an impact in the NFL?

Well, I believe there's more to that story.

When considering his film from last year, one thing clearly stands out - the kid isn't getting enough opportunities. Whether it's because the Vikes' oline can't block long enough for deep plays, or due to Bradford's incompetence as an NFL quarterback, he hasn't been able to break out and prove he truly could be a threat.

In the following, I break down a few plays that bring to light the potential Charles Johnson brings, and how the Vikings hindered that. Now, that's not to say he does have some stuff to work on - which I'll also allude to - but he's certainly capped in his total potential.

Without further ado, here's my case for Charles Johnson (I'll call him CJ2 in some instances):

Source Video:

My Thoughts + Breakdown

If you watch the source video, you'll likely be shocked at how many missed opportunities Charles Johnson had. Not only was he limited in how many deep routes he ran on instances, his QB couldn't simply accurately pass to his deep target. Below is an example of such:

You'll notice Charles Johnson is wide open, yet Bradford was unable to nail him. Charles Johnson breezes by the corner, yet the Viking's o-line and Bradford failed him. Certainly not the most encouraging thing to see for any offense.

But I want you to notice that Charles Johnson is capable of getting open. In the above play, he shows to clearly whiz past the corner on a deep route and get open. Had Bradford nailed that pass, it would've been a walk in touchdown. 

Sadly, that was not the case.

Charles Johnson does show promise as a deep threat, and I just believe he's been hindered from showcasing that. 

However, that's not to say he didn't get some chances. Take a look at below:

He presses the corner then gets open deep for a huge gain, showcasing good speed and capability as a deep threat. Had that pass not been overthrown and if he were able to keep stride, it would be a walk in touchdown.

He has capability to become a deep threat; something the Panthers need with the loss of Ginn, and I believe Gettleman took care of that perfectly. Charles Johnson certainly looks like the guy for the part.

Another example of potential CJ2 brings, but Minnesota hampering it:

In this play, Minnesota shows yet again its incapability of throwing the ball deep. With CJ2 speeding past the corner and wide open, Bradford under-throws/miss-times the ball to make it a no play. CJ2 was forced to slow down to compensate for such terrible QB play, which resulted in the corner easily catching up. 

This should've been an easy walk-in touchdown from Charles Johnson, but Minnesota can't time the ball right for him. The result of such was a dud play.

One thing that's consistent in these videos is how bad Minnesota was at throwing the deep ball. Most of CJ2's failures came from the Vikings overthrowing or underthrowing many passes. They just don't hit on his potential well whatsoever.

CJ2 is also capable of running horizontal routes and beating the coverage. Check out this play:

CJ2 lines up to the left of Bradford and zooms by past the corners and linebackers to get open for a good chunk of yards. His speed helps whiz him by traffic and make a terrific grab near the boundary. There wasn't much near him to take away that catch whatsoever.

A solid play.

What the Vikings seem to use him in the most are in these type of short passes. Here's one example:

They try and utilize his speed in this way, but I just think that's to help compensate for Bradford's arm. You'll find a lot of these style of plays where CJ2 is misused - in my opinion - rather than utilized for the deep threat he is.

However, he does have some issues, particularly in quick short throws.

Here's one example:

In this play, CJ2 attempts to catch with his body or whatever and fails miserably. The result is a play that could've easily ended up as an interception. This is not what you want when you have your WR running a quick route like that.

Even so, he still is pretty reliable overall. He does show better hands than Ginn, and he still makes plays that he'll likely be used for.

However, he sometimes shows inability to beat corners when challenged. Here's an example of a jump-ball where he couldn't win:

When going against a corner in tight coverage, he wasn't able to win the battle. Now, this is what is to be expected due to the fact he's not Funchess or Benjamin. He's not the WR we expect to be able to win those battles all the time.

So, considering that, he'll likely not be the guy we look for in a situation like this.

What he does show is a guy who can run routes and get open deep. A guy who will be able to beat corners with speed and win with a QB throwing him those bombs downfield. Cam Newton is known for being one of the best in the league at that, so I have no doubt CJ2 will see his potential unleashed.

Conclusion

WR Charles Johnson will be the perfect replacement for Ginn. He has the speed and skill to be a deep threat and beat corners with speed and get open. Paired with Cam Newton, he should be able to shine. 

He has more reliable hands in comparison to Ted Ginn, and he shows he's able to turn on the afterburners and rip past secondaries and defenses with his athleticism and speed.

On the Panthers, he's our speed option we'll use to get defenses to respect us. His film shows he's been misused far too often, and his QB can't hit him deep to save his life. His potential is being capped due to the Vikings inability to utilize him for the deep threat he is. 

The knock on him is his sloppy route work. When it comes to technical routes with pieces and sharp cuts, he can't hit them right. Because of that inability, he'll often get little separation as a result of lagging in that area. 

Due to this, his ceiling isn't really high, and I'd argue lower than Shepard's. His ability as a deep threat and straight line route runner is real solid, but as a technical route runner - not so much.

CJ2 may have looked like he underperformed on paper, but the film shows the Vikings made him underperform. On the Panthers, I see his career being revitalized and him being a consistent good deep threat for 2017. He's a perfect plug with a QB who can throw deep, and I have no doubt his production will make us miss Ginn less.

 

[LinvilleGorge]

One year deal tells me everything I need to know. Gettleman has moved to two year deals for most of his FA signings after getting burned when we lost Mike Mitchell after one good year.

One year deal = total shot in the dark.

[Saca312]

9 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

One year deal tells me everything I need to know. Gettleman has moved to two year deals for most of his FA signings after getting burned when we lost Mike Mitchell after one good year.

One year deal = total shot in the dark.

I feel like CJ2 is our stopgap in between finding our future speedster for this year. I truly think he'll breakout in a Ginn role this year, and may command some money elsewhere afterwards.

[LinvilleGorge]

2 minutes ago, Saca312 said:

I feel like CJ2 is our stopgap in between finding our future speedster for this year. I truly think he'll breakout in a Ginn role this year, and may command some money elsewhere afterwards.

I think if we expected that, we would've insisted on a two year deal. He's a camp body who will hopefully amount to something.

[GoobyPls]

4th or 5th string receiver. He dropped a couple of wide open passes, couldn't separate on other routes. Patterson who has bad hands and no route concept beat him out for snaps. He could probably replace Philly's role.

[TheRed]

I appreciate the effort.

But we as fans have been burned by reciever signings after placing high expectations. Think Dickson, and Underwood, prime examples.

Not saying he is going to end up that way, or that he won't be good, just that as fans, we have to learn to temper expectations. Which can be difficult of course, but time will tell.

[Saca312]

2 minutes ago, GoobyPls said:

4th or 5th string receiver. He dropped a couple of wide open passes, couldn't separate on other routes. Patterson who has bad hands and no route concept beat him out for snaps. He could probably replace Philly's role.

I only saw him drop 1 or 2 wide open passes out of all the passes he's had.

Separated on quite a good bit of routes as well and showed good ability as a deep threat. More often than not, all I saw is Bradford acting like a fool and underthrowing passes everywhere.

[Saca312]

5 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I think if we expected that, we would've insisted on a two year deal. He's a camp body who will hopefully amount to something.

Well you still need to prove it's not just a vike issue either. His film shows he's capable, and I can see why Gettleman snatched him as a Ginn replacement.

However, not all receivers show their potential even in favorable situations, so a one year non-high risk deal is worthwhile for both parties in this case.

[X-Clown on 1]

He has solid speed and runs good straight line routes, but he has no idea how to sit his route down in a zone.

[Saca312]

Just now, X-Clown on 1 said:

He has solid speed and runs good straight line routes, but he has no idea how to sit his route down in a zone.

Very true. Forgot to mention he does have issues with cuts and solidifying routes. Takes a couple of steps before cutting. I don't think his ceiling is high in that area, but as a deep threat he's more than servicable.

[LinvilleGorge]

2 minutes ago, Saca312 said:

Well you still need to prove it's not just a vike issue either. His film shows he's capable, and I can see why Gettleman snatched him as a Ginn replacement.

However, not all receivers show their potential even in favorable situations, so a one year non-high risk deal is worthwhile for both parties in this case.

I don't need to prove anything, he does.

I appreciate what you're doing here with your breakdowns of our signings, but cherry picking a bunch of gifs to portray all of our FA signings as potential All-Pros honestly takes away from your credibility and cheapens your breakdowns.

Honestly, I think his odds of making the final roster are probably under 50%

[Still Brooklyn]

Are we walking the QB who had 3,877 yds, 20 TDs, 5 INTS, and a 99.3 QBR?

[outlaw4]

Honestly, after watching all those plays, I just don't see him as a Ginn replacement at all. Obviously, no one could ever replace Ginn's speed but the hands and the routes don't look that much better to me. At this juncture, Byrd is the only one that has a realistic chance to fill Ginn's shoes with those deep bombs and reverses, assuming he even makes the roster.

[Carolina Cajun]

I personally loved the signing, I think he will do fantastic in out offense.  He is a deep threat and neither Bridgewater or Bradford can accurately throw the ball past 5 yards.  The 1 year contract to me sounds more like a player getting on himself rather than taking a longer offer.  We shall see though, he also could be another kid-n-play (tiquan underwood).