Detroit Lions: The Great Wide Receiver Battle
By Mark DeGain
The case for Vernon Johnson
Vernon Johnson signed as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions. In fact, he received the 3rd highest signing bonus out of all of the undrafted free agents signed in 2015. This speaks volumes as to how bad Detroit wanted him.
At 6-foot tall and 196-pounds, he has the size for a good receiver. At Texas A&M-Commerce, in his final 2 seasons, he had amassed 2608 yards and 25 touchdowns. He has an elusiveness once the ball is in his hands to make people miss and gain yards after the catch. For a rookie, I really like what I see out of him.
He made some very nice catches over the top of defenders in camp and seems to have a great attitude. I definitely don’t want to lose out on this kid, so that is why I am putting him as a practice squad player. Once he has a year on the practice squad and can work more against some stiffer competition that exists on this team, I feel he will be ready for a breakout year come 2016.
Next: Ryan Broyles