WR Tyler Johnson (Minnesota)

[davos]

He caught my eye mid season and quickly realized Johnson is an insane talent hidden up north. Had an unreal game against Auburn to close out the season.

6'2 205 but a huge wingspan/catch radius. 

With Jeudy, Justin Jefferson, Lamb, Ruggs, Higgins all amazing as well, this is a mid-1st round talent that could be there at Pick 2 for us.  We have so many needs, I'd like to just target best value regardless and this kid looks like a smooth operator. 

If we're just looking at players and not teams, this kid seems like one whoever drafts will be damn lucky to have grabbed. 

Really good article:

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But what I can tell you is that there may not be a more well-rounded wide receiver in this class, other than maybe Alabama's Jerry Jeudy, than Tyler Johnson. If you look at every trait or skill that is judged at the wide receiver position -- size, speed, strength, LOS skills, route running, finishing consistency at the catch point, red zone production, and after the catch production, Johnson might be the only wide receiver in this elite 2020 wide receiver crop that checks each of those boxes. In addition, he projects well to mostly any offense at the next level with his inside-out versatility -- once again, similar to how Michael Thomas and Tyler Boyd are used by their respective teams.

https://thedraftnetwork.com/articles/minnesota-machine--tyler-johnson-needs-to-be-in-first-round-conversation

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Contested Catch Ability - Wouldn't necessarily call it his calling card, but there's very good concentration here and hand strength to squeeze the ball effectively to ensure he's not getting balls broken up once they hit his hands. Elevation skills are especially notable to go high in the red zone. 

RAC Ability - Like his field vision and ability to stay in control when pressing up the field -- didn't overextend himself or show impatience turning up field to betray blockers. He isn't a true burner and isn't exceptionally powerful either, but he's well rounded enough to make the 1st man miss.  

Football IQ - Crafty, polished and shows very good awareness of creating more space for himself. Finds soft spots and vacancies quite well by manipulating zone coverage and forcing defenders to concede space. His sideline awareness and ability to work the boundary is sublime. 

Vertical Receiving Skills - He's got a little bit more functional juice than I first anticipated, but he's fully capable of stacking defenders -- particularly when given double moves or opportunities to create hesitation. Like ability to track the ball, subsequently transition into an aggressive attack of the ball in the air. 

Change of Direction Ability - Thanks to his clean footwork and natural foot quickness, there's plenty of ability to collect, burst out of cuts or lateral release off the line of scrimmage with lateral quicks. Confident in steep angle cuts, capable of exploding out of hard step to roll momentum through breaks.

Speed - When you get him on deeper routes or when he's hit in stride, you can really see him open up his strides and really overtake defensive backs in the open field. He's more of a smooth initial accelerator but he's got amble juice and a second gear to break off big gains. 

Competitive Toughness - Functional strength isn't where he's going to make his mark at the NFL level and while his effort as a blocker is strong, the results don't result in a lot of uprooted defenders. He's one to thrive in space -- but he's more than capable of working across the middle of the field. 

Blocking Ability - Nothing spectacular here, he'll get the job done against his fair share of nickel defenders but if you ask him to pin defenders on the second level on outside run or screen game, you're asking for someone to blow up the play. Lower body power and hand punch isn't notable. 

 

[Untouchable]

Big fan of his.  Impressive route running for his size and good at the catch point.  Want to see more of him against press.

[davos]

On 1/6/2020 at 11:46 AM, Untouchable said:

Big fan of his.  Impressive route running for his size and good at the catch point.  Want to see more of him against press.

Totally.  He seems like a Tyler Boyd but coming in at a slightly higher level and has a higher ceiling.  Almost like some of the old school flankers in the 90s but curated for today's league.   

[Untouchable]

On 1/7/2020 at 11:07 PM, davos said:

Totally.  He seems like a Tyler Boyd but coming in at a slightly higher level and has a higher ceiling.  Almost like some of the old school flankers in the 90s but curated for today's league.   

I like the comparison.  I thought of Allen Robinson at Penn State when watching him.  Very interested to see how he performs at the combine.

EDIT:  (He's at the Shrine Bowl this week.  Keep an eye out on twitter for highlights from him, as he is probably the top prospect there.)  He's not there anymore....maybe he was moved up to Senior Bowl