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Draft Prospect Profile | WR Collin Johnson, Texas
COLLIN JOHNSON
Height: 6-foot-6
Weight: 226 pounds
Class: Senior
School: Texas
If the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs taught us nothing else, it's that having speed at the receiver is a key to dominating the opponent.
Unfortunately, the Giants haven't had much speed at the position. They did have Odell Beckham Jr until they traded him away last off-season, but they got lucky with Darius Slayton, a fifth-round draft pick.
Otherwise, with the occasional flash, the cupboard has been bare, and it's time to consider changing that.
Enter Collin Johnson, who not only has speed but who, at 6-foot-6, is a big-bodied option that quarterbacks dream of having at their disposal. The son of College Football Hall of Fame cornerback Johnnie Johnson, who was in the NFL from 1980-89 with the Rams and Seahawks,
In four seasons with the Longhorns, the younger Johnson caught 188 passes for 2,624 yards and 15 touchdowns. His best year came in 2018, his junior season when he hauled in 68 passes for 985 yards and seven touchdowns.
Johnson, a team captain for the Longhorns in 2019, finished his college career in the top ten in school history for receptions and receiving yards.
Johnson's size potentially makes him a matchup nightmare in the red zone, particularly on fade patterns that Giants fans will remember being a staple during the team's 2007 Super Bowl triumph.
Yet for as big as Johnson is, he's not as physical as you'd' expect, at least not against press coverage. While he doesn't shy away from contact, when teams play press coverage against him, they can knock him off his routes and disrupt timing.
Johnson isn't the sharpest route runner either at this point, which creates separation issues. However, that's something that can be coached--Slayton, when he arrived in East Rutherford, had a similar issue and credited veterans Sterling Shepard and Golden Tate for setting the right example and teaching him how to become a more polished route runner.
Johnson, who had a hamstring strain this past November, didn't clock in at a very impressive 40-time, according to NFL Draft Scout, who has his 40-time around 4.58. It's not known if that timed speed was recorded before or after his injury, so it will be interesting to see what Johnson clocks in at during the combine.
Why He Fits
Johnson's speed might not necessarily be top-shelf. Still, with the Giants likely to redo the bottom of their receiver depth chart, Johnson's 6-foot-6 height would undoubtedly be welcomed on a unit where the tallest receiver currently under contract stands 6-foot-1 in cleats (Slayton).
But more importantly, a tallish receiver who can be a red-zone threat is something this team hasn't had lately. According to the Football Guys, the Giants looked at their receivers in the red zone just 42 times last year versus the 56 times they looked at the running backs.
By adding a potential red-zone threat at receiver, the Giants would be giving opposing defenses something else to think about other than zeroing in on Saquon Barkley.
