Matt Waldman’s RSP Boiler Room examines 2020 NFL Draft prospect WR Collin Johnson’s effort with the micro-movements of football that translate into big plays.
Rangy, strong, and fast enough to threaten the deeper pastures of opposing defenses, Texas wide receiver Collin Johnson is a dangerous receiver who maximizes his length and strength to win the football. For many young players, these gifts are enough for them.
They’ve had so much early success being bigger, faster, and stronger, they don’t do the extras to enhance their chances for success. The deeper they get into their football careers, the more likely those athletic advantages erode and they’re left wondering why they didn’t make it in the NFL.
I made more impressive plays than he did in camp…
I had more catches and yards than those two guys who made the team…
Man, those if only those three plays that I was sooo close to busting worked out differently…
It’s true, sometimes players are overlooked or had some bad breaks. When this happens, they often get a chance to go somewhere else and prove this was the case.
It’s also true that many players didn’t do the little things that transform moments from negative or average outcomes into positive or explosive plays. Those little things often come down to the turn of a pad, the tightening of an arm, or the point of a toe.
Because there’s a smaller margin of athletic ability in the NFL, these tiny details are what often leads to good plays. Johnson illustrates this point during a short pass against Oklahoma in last year’s Big 12 Championship. And it’s these details that not only helped him earn yards after the catch and first downs but also bait cornerbacks into a pair of pass interference penalties.
Johnson isn’t a burner and from what I’ve seen thus far, he’s not sudden. However, he grasps the tiny details of body movement that earn him advantages that speed and acceleration can’t always give his competition.
It’s this kinesthetic sense that could help Johnson develop into an NFL receiver.
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