The Road to 53: Is WR Cephus Johnson Capable of Playing the Taysom Hill Role?
The Vikings roster is just about set for training camp this summer, and with that, the offseason moves past the roster construction phase and into the roster evaluation phase. As we get our first glimpses of the Vikings roster in action throughout the summer, it’s time to evaluate which players should be candidates to make the final 53-man roster during training camp. Today, we continue the “Road to 53” by discussing WR Cephus Johnson.
Background
Cephus Johnson has had a very interesting path to the NFL. He played his high school ball at WP Davidson in Mobile, Alabama, where he earned All-Regional and All-State honors during his senior season of 2016 as a quarterback. The two-star prospect proceeded to commit to the University of South Alabama where he began his collegiate career in 2017. He also received an offer from the University of Louisiana.
After redshirting his freshman year, he appeared in eight games, making one start for the Jaguars in 2018, completing 7-of-19 passes for 120 yards and 3 TDs. Then, his sophomore year brought with it eight starts in which Johnson started eight of South Alabama’s 12 games, recording modest passing numbers of 900 yards, 5 TDs, and 7 INTs while completing 51.7% of his passes.
Johnson was clearly a very raw passer, but the arm strength was there, and his elusive athleticism made him an intriguing player. After that 2019 season, he transferred to Southeastern Louisiana where he would finish his collegiate career.
In 2020, he returned to that reserve role for SLU’s season, completing all three of his passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. He also added 30 rushing attempts for 142 yards and a touchdown along with a pair of receptions for 20 yards. This was the first year where Johnson garnered targets in the passing game rather than being the passer himself.
This continued in 2021. He attempted just 12 passes during his senior season, completing 5 of them for 149 yards and a touchdown. As a runner, he put together 30 carries for 259 yards and 4 TDs. His receiving numbers were again modest, but he caught 5 passes for 63 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
He went undrafted in the spring of 2022, and after sitting out of football for a year, he joins the Minnesota Vikings for training camp in 2023. However, is he going to be able to carve out a role for himself with the franchise for this season?
How Johnson Can Impact the 2023 Vikings
Johnson’s a tough player to place with this Vikings roster, considering he played the majority of his collegiate snaps at quarterback, and now, he is listed as a wide receiver for Minnesota. It’s an interesting fit, especially considering the Vikings are rather deep at both the QB and WR positions right now, but the unknown of what he could be at the NFL level may actually help him.
The best-case scenario for Johnson could be that Minnesota sees him as a Taysom Hill-esque player that can do a little bit of everything for the team. It’s not necessarily a crazy comparison, either. Hill stands at 6’2 and 221 pounds while Johnson is 6’5 and 225 pounds, and both displayed terrific rushing ability during their collegiate careers.
The difference is, of course, Hill played his college ball at BYU while Johnson split time between a very small FBS school (South Alabama) and an FCS school (Southeastern Louisiana). However, if Johnson can show a little bit of everything in terms of passing, blocking, running, and receiving, maybe he can sneak onto the end of Minnesota’s depth chart as a gadget weapon.
Obstacles in His Way
As a whole, the wide receiver room in Minnesota remains one of the deepest positions on the entire roster. There will be a number of quality players competing for the final spots, and a player that, at most, split his time at the position for smaller D-1 colleges such as Johnson is going to be at a major disadvantage.
That being said, again, Johnson’s potential to play all over the field could give him a buffer between himself and the other “true” wide receivers in the competition. He certainly isn’t polished enough of a passer to claim a stake in the QB position battle, either.
The Prediction
At the end of the day, it’s tough to see a team like the Vikings giving one of the final 53 spots on the roster to a “project” player like Johnson. He needs at least another year or two of development before landing such a spot in Minnesota. However, he could very well be retained on the practice squad for 2023.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.