Draft Profile: Tyler Johnson

February 11, 2020 /
  • Height: 6’2″
  • Weight: 205lb
  • College: Minnesota
  • Tape watched: Purdue, Auburn, Iowa
  • NFL Comparison: Robert Woods

Pros

  • Hands
    Tyler Johnson is great at the catch point. With strong hands and great body control, Johnson will help overshadow inaccurate passes at the next level. Johnson will be one of the best 50/50 catch receivers of the draft and will be a great addition to any redzone offense.
  • Physicality
    Tyler Johnson is one of the more physical receivers in his class. More often than not Johnson looks for contact after the catch. Combat catches are his strong-suit, using his large frame and strong hands to protect the football. Johnson never short-arms catches with imminent contact and he is a competitive receiver that puts his team before his body.
  • Route Breaks
    Although not a terrific route runner, Johnson creates most of his separation with his breaks out of his routes. He snaps his body away from defenders well and has a good feel of defensive zones.

Cons

  • Route running
    A lot of Johnson’s time and effort are wasted through his route stem. He has a lot of pointless foot jabs that do little to set-up corners and move them off their marks. Johnson can be too patient in his route stems, and as a result can be late to his spot, or the football gets onto him too quickly.
A great example of the pros vs. cons of Johnson’s game. His release is slow and he creeps to the top of his route, then he stays tall and doesn’t move the corner with his chop steps. On the other hand he is able to find the football last second and makes a great contested catch.
  • Release
    Maybe the area that needs the most improvement for Tyler Johnson, his release is late off the football and often times lacks purpose. There isn’t a lot of tape of him being pressed, as he was moved around in a variety of schemes, but he may struggle against press coverage in the NFL.

Overview

Tyler Johnson posted back to back seasons at Minnesota with over 1,100 and at least 12 touchdowns. He is a receiver that is fearless with contact, and has a great ability to find the football and make tough plays. Improving his release and route running will help NFL coaches find more ways to use Johnson. NFL offenses have recently started using larger receivers from the slot to create matchup advantages, much like the names of JuJu Smith-Schuster, Adam Theilen, and Tyler Boyd to name a few. Tyler Johnson may just add his name to that list.