Texas Football: Jacksonville Getting Potential Day One Value in Collin Johnson

The Texas receiver was generating a ton of buzz before an injury slowed him down his senior year

Collin Johnson was probably looking at a first or second round selection had he entered the 2019 NFL Draft. 

Before the start of the 2019 season ESPN's Todd McShay had the Jacksonville Jaguars selecting the 6-foot-6, 220-pound receiver in the first round. 

Hall of Fame scout Gil Brandt had equally-high opinions of Johnson, ranking him as the best NFL prospect at the position going into the  year. 

Unfortunately for Johnson, his senior year didn't go like he planned. He sustained a hamstring injury in the first game of the season.

He wasn't at full strength against LSU, but still caught three passes for 49 yards. He would sit out the next month of the season before returning against Oklahoma with a six-catch, 82-yard day. He followed that up with 96 yards against Kansas and a pair of 100-yard games against TCU and Kansas State before aggravating his hamstring again. The injury would keep him out the rest of the regular season. 

While all that was going on, college football was producing what many scouts believe will be a historically-good receiver draft class for 2020. 

Juniors CeeDee Lamb, Henry Ruggs, Jerry Jeudy, Jalen Reagor, Tee Higgins and Justin Jefferson all declared for the draft with high grades. 

Johnson still had a couple more chances to impress, though. He turned in a solid performance at the Senior Bowl and was ready to put up big numbers at the NFL Combine before a hip flexor injury during warm ups killed those chances. 

His last chance to create buzz was supposed to come at the Texas pro day, an event that was cancelled due to the threat of the novel coronavirus. 

All of these factors combined caused Johnson to fall all the way to the fifth round and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ironically, it was the same team McShay predicted would take Johnson with a first-round pick a few months earlier. 

The Jags get a ton of value for a fifth round pick and Johnson gets a good landing spot for a young wide receiver. Quarterback Gardner Minshew II had a terrific rookie season, outside receiver D.J. Chark Jr. is coming off a pro bowl year and Dede Westbrook is one of the fastest players in football. If Johnson can prove his worth and crack the starting lineup at the boundry receiver spot, he should have the best of both worlds for a young receiver - a good passing game and enough help around him to let him grow into his role.