Calvin Johnson: A Career Retrospective

The date was April 28, 2007. The Detroit Lions headed into the NFL Draft with the second overall pick in tow after a horrible 3-13 Finish the previous season.

Everybody wonder aloud who the Lions would take? Or more likely, how would Matt Millen screw this up? Initial rumors that flew around had the Lions trading up for JaMarcus Russell or even trading back for more picks. You couldn’t rule anything out in 2007. Millen had Ike Alama-Francis in his heart coming into this draft. It’s a wonder how that wasn’t the Lions second pick. Nevertheless the day came and Russell was selected by the Raiders first. Fans clamored on the edge of their seats hoping the Lions would do the same thing they had done so many years prior, take a wide receiver in the first round. Some guy named Roger Goodell stepped to the podium without hearing any boos and said these words. “With the second pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions take Wide Receiver, Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech.”

Just like that your whole world changed if you were a Detroit Lions fan. Sort of. Most knew the Lions had a  special player in Calvin right away. But   It took some time before Calvin became the all-world receiver that we know and love today. His rookie year he put down 48 receptions for 756 yards and four touchdowns. Not bad for a rookie. The Lions would proceed go 7-9 before they entered what would be the worst single season in NFL history in 2008. Despite going 0-16, Calvin was a revelation. With five different quarterbacks throwing the ball his way, Calvin amassed 1,331 yards and 12 touchdowns. It was quite clear that Batman needed his Robin, or some would say that Robin needed his Batman. The Lions would make that their very next objective.

2008 in the books and Matt Millen gone, the Lions entered the draft with the first pick. In need of a quarterback the Lions made the conscious decision to draft Georgia’s Matthew Stafford. This move would go on to create one of the NFL’s best quarterback/receiver combinations in the league. Probably in history when it’s all said and done. There was some rough patches in the early going. Stafford had injury troubles along with rookie troubles. But by 2011, the two got together and did something amazing.

Calvin truly became Megatron in 2011 by recording 1,681 yards and 16 touchdowns. He and Stafford led the Lions to their first playoff berth since 1999 and did it all in spectacular fashion. Whether it was an unbelievable comeback in Dallas or a last second touchdown in Oakland for the win. Everything these two did together that year was a spectacle to behold. How could they ever top this? The next logical step was to etch Calvin’s name in the record books forever. If you want to understand the impact that Calvin Johnson had on the city of Detroit, look no further than a matchup on Monday night football with the Atlanta Falcons in 2012. The Lions were 4-10 coming into this game. But feeling in the building was like the Lions were a win away from the Super Bowl. Losing didn’t matter for at least one night. The only thing that did was Calvin beating Jerry Rice’s single season receiving record. Everyone went crazy every time he touched the ball and when he finally beat the record late in the game, the whole world paused. The game seemingly took a backseat to the moment. Calvin being the way he always has been, simply took the game ball over to his dad along with a hug. Then went right back to work.

Calvin would never reach that level of play again in his career. But what you saw from Calvin was a guy that can still dominate the field. In 2013 Calvin didn’t set any records. But he dominated just about every time he stepped on the field. He made amazing plays like the one against Bengals where he out jumped their entire secondary in the endzone. He made big plays during a blizzard in Philadelphia, and scored big on his birthday against the Bears at home. This all pales in comparison to what Calvin did to the Dallas Cowboys. In a game in which yours truly was in the building, Johnson went off with 14 receptions for 329 yards and a touchdown. Easily one of the most dominating performances by a receiver in NFL history.

unfortunately in 2014 you saw the beginning of the end for Calvin. Injuries started to hamper Johnson and he missed significant time for the time in his career. Despite missing three games and working decoy for two others, Calvin was still able to notch 1,077 yards and eight touchdowns. That’s pretty wild when you think about it. This would be only the second and last playoff appearance of Calvin’s career. Sadly it ended in controversy.

In 2015 Lions fans got to witness Calvin Johnson suite up for the Lions one last time. Although it’s safe to say that nobody saw retirement as an option once the season ended in January. The lions didn’t have such a great year. But looking back on it, we got to see Calvin do a few more amazing things with the little time we had left to enjoy it. Calvin helped the Lions get their first win in Green Bay since 1991. Then taught poor Eric Rowe a lesson on Thanksgiving day when he went to the house three times on the rookie corner. He grabbed one more touchdown in Ford Field and then dazzled us one last time with a beautiful catch in Chicago.

Now that it’s all said and done. We can look back on the career of a sure first ballot hall of famer with little regret. In nine years in Detroit Calvin hit 1,000 yards or more in seven of them. He hit double digits in touchdowns four times. He was a six-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro, led the league in receiving yards twice, was the fastest receiver 10,000 yards in NFL history and of course holds just about every Lions receiving record. It should be interesting to see what Calvin’s next move is. But if he’s shown us anything in the last nine years, his next move is to just go home and be with his family. I will never blame him for that. Thank you Calvin.