Born: September 25, 1985
23-year old Calvin Johnson was drafted second overall by the Lions in 2007. At 6’5 235 pounds, Johnson certainly fits the mold of a star wide receiver. When you combine that with a 4.35 40 yard dash, you get the second coming Randy Moss.
While that may be a bit gracious, Johnson certainly has the ability to be the NFL’s best receiver by the time his late twenties roll around. In his rookie season he caught 48 passes for 756 yards and 4 touchdowns. Fairly pedestrian numbers, however, he was the number two option behind Roy Williams and Jon Kitna was his quarterback… Not exactly a recipe for success. In his second season, CJ started all 16 games, and although the Lions struggled, Johnson excelled. Quarterbacks Dan Orlovsky, Daunte Culpepper, and Jon Kitna combined for 18 total touchdowns, 12 of which were received by Johnson. In addition to his 12 TD’s (tied for most in ‘08) Calvin had 78 receptions for 1,331 yards.
Johnson’s numbers will continue to grow as he matures, another factor to his success may be the play of rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford. Although Johnson has shown he doesn’t need an all-pro QB in order to put up numbers, it certainly wouldn’t hurt his situation to have somebody with a big arm getting him the ball. The Lions epitomize the current state of Detroit, but at least there is hope in a new foundation of Johnson and Stafford.
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