81 Days Until Vikings Football: What Will Bisi Johnson Do in Year Two?

As we count down the days until the Vikings' opener against the Packers on September 13th, InsideTheVikings will be previewing every single player on the roster. The amount of days remaining corresponds with the jersey number of the player being examined on that day. Today is June 24th, and there are 81 days until kickoff for the 2020 regular season. Our player preview for today looks at a young receiver who impressed as a rookie.

Countdown to Vikings-Packers on September 13th: 81 Days

Player Preview: Bisi Johnson (No. 81, Wide Receiver)

College: Colorado State
Drafted: 2019 seventh round (247th overall)
NFL experience: One year
Age: 23 (Birthday was in March)
Size: 6'0", 204
2019 PFF Grade: 63.7
Notable 2019 stats: 31 catches, 294 yards, 3 touchdowns

Bisi Johnson was one of the biggest pleasant surprises of the 2019 season for the Vikings. The 247th overall pick was the 28th of 28 wide receivers selected in last year's draft, yet he finished 11th among his class with 294 receiving yards as a rookie. In year two, he'll look to hold off several competitors for the Vikings' WR3 job and continue to grow in Gary Kubiak's offense.

A native of the Denver suburbs, Johnson starred in football and track in high school. Despite that success, he was mostly overlooked in the recruiting process. Johnson was the 222nd-ranked receiver in his high school class, with his only DI offers coming from Colorado State, Northern Colorado, and Army. He chose CSU and went on to have a strong career in Fort Collins.

After playing sparingly as a freshman, Johnson emerged as the Rams' No. 2 receiver – behind current Cowboys star Michael Gallup – in his sophomore season. He set a school record with 265 receiving yards on just seven receptions in the 2016 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, and finished the year with 613 yards and four touchdowns. Johnson posted similar numbers in 2017 with Gallup continuing to dominate targets. As a senior, he recorded career highs of 54 catches and 796 yards, but still played second fiddle, this time to Tennessee transfer and current Miami Dolphin Preston Williams.

Johnson posted solid numbers at the 2019 combine, including a 38-inch vertical jump and a 4.51 40. Due to his relative lack of production in the Mountain West and his lack of elite testing numbers, he fell all the way to the end of the seventh round. But much like he did as an under-recruited high school player, Johnson out-performed expectations in his first NFL training camp.

When the Vikings began camp last July, Johnson was roughly the 8th receiver on the depth chart. A little over a month later, he was one of four receivers to make the 53-man roster. Johnson shined in the preseason, catching four of his five targets for 87 yards and a touchdown.

With the reports that Bisi Johnson has secured his spot on the #Vikings' 53-man roster, here is every target from his first three preseason games:

Good release, savvy routes, excellent at the catch point, good vision & elusiveness after the catch. He'll contribute this year: pic.twitter.com/W0yQBmkCUj
— Nick Olson (@NickOlsonNFL) August 29, 2019

He opened the season as the Vikings' WR4, but an early injury to Chad Beebe moved him up to the key third slot. Johnson's snaps jumped from 22 combined over the first three games to 34 in Week 4, and he responded with four catches for 35 yards. A week later against the Giants, he posted four catches for 43. Johnson caught each of his first nine targets of the season, establishing himself as a reliable possession receiver for Kirk Cousins.

Week 7 in Detroit was a big one for Johnson. Adam Thielen went down with a hamstring injury on a first quarter touchdown catch, thrusting the rookie into a starting role as the Vikings' WR2. He saw a career-high eight targets, catching four for 40 yards and his first career touchdown.

Johnson was suddenly a nearly every-down player in the Vikings' offense, exceeding 50 snaps in six of seven games between Weeks 7 and 14. He didn't light the league on fire, but he continued to be a dependable target for Cousins and finished the season with a 31/294/3 line. Johnson also caught two passes in the wild card round of the playoffs. His highlight of the season was this leaping touchdown grab in the second meeting with the Lions:

Kirk Cousins finds Bisi Johnson for the TD! pic.twitter.com/LRh3UruoBx
— uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) December 8, 2019

The door was briefly open for Johnson to take over as the No. 2 receiver in 2020 when the Vikings traded Stefon Diggs, but the selection of Justin Jefferson all but slammed that door shut. Instead, Johnson will compete with free agent pickup Tajae Sharpe and a host of others for the WR3 job.

Vikings Receivers Preview: Justin Jefferson Isn't Stefon Diggs, and That's OK

Sharpe has more NFL experience, but Johnson has the benefit of knowing Kubiak's offense and having a rapport with Cousins after playing a year in the system. Another thing Johnson has going for him is his ability as a blocker on the outside; he weighs ten pounds more than Sharpe and was impressive in that area as a rookie.

One reason why Bisi Johnson might have the edge over Tajae Sharpe in the #Vikings' WR3 battle? Blocking ability.

Last year, Bisi ranked 9th out of 122 qualified receivers in PFF run-blocking grade. Sharpe was 84th.

In a run-heavy offense, that matters.
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) June 24, 2020

Johnson isn't the biggest, fastest, or most elusive receiver out there. He was never a No. 1 receiver in college and will never be a No. 1 receiver in the NFL. But he's got a solid combination of all three of those things and – most importantly – is a good route-runner with steady hands. Johnson has massive 10 and 3/8th-inch hands (95th percentile among WRs) and ranked first among all Vikings receivers with a catch percentage of 69 last year.

I can see Johnson carving out a long career as a possession receiver with some upside. For 2020, he's almost a sure thing to make the roster, it's just a question of whether or not he'll secure that WR3 job and the playing time that comes with it.

Other WR player previews:

You can find every single player preview to date – plus other offseason content – in this handy spreadsheet.

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