Not only did Lions receiver Calvin Johnson persuade me last year that he was the best receiver in the game with his 1300 yard, 12 touchdown year, but Johnson accounted for 66% of the passing touchdowns while catching passes from 5 different quarterbacks throughout the year. At 6’5, 240 lbs with great hands, speed, body control, work ethic, and any other important wide receiver attribute I might have missed, Johnson received most of the defensive attention from opponents. That did not stop Johnson from catching 78 passes under double and triple teams, while his team struggled to win a single game. Although Johnson had an amazing second year in the NFL with a failing team, the start of his career is yet to begin.

In 2009, Johnson will be lining up with the future of the Lions’ offense, which will only get better as time progresses. Number one overall pick, Matthew Stafford, will start at quarterback during the 2009 season and has already shown a tendency to challenge the defense downfield. Coincidentally, Calvin Johnson’s skills matchup quite nicely with an aggressive, downfield passing game. Although Stafford didn’t quite have the most impressive preseason stats, Stafford’s play did not accurately reflect those stats. Outside of Calvin Johnson, the receivers dropped several great passes, which would even make Peyton Manning look bad. Putting the numbers aside, Stafford made many great throws downfield including a 37 yard pass to Calvin Johnson down the sideline against the Bills. If it were not for a toe touching the out of bounds line, Johnson would have ran another 55 yards for a 92-yard touchdown catch. I only see Johnson making more plays like this in the future.

You may think the Lions don’t have many other weapons, figuring Johnson accounted for 66% of last year’s receiving touchdowns, but they didn’t draft tight end Brandon Pettigrew in the first round to just block. If teams think that shutting down the Lions offense means shutting down Calvin Johnson, they will also have to account for the “first round picks” passing connection: Stafford to Pettigrew. Regardless, if a receiver’s third year in the league is supposedly the breakout year for the position, I’m scared to see what Johnson will do this year after a 1300 yard, 12 touchdown second year in the league.

Gabe Pinchev