Olabisi Johnson is a Strong Candidate for a Breakout Season
Kirby O'Connor
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Minnesota Vikings fans have been absolutely raving about rookie wide receiver Justin Jefferson. This hype makes a lot of sense as Justin Jefferson was selected with the first round pick that came from the Stefon Diggs trade. However, I think the Jefferson hype has left people sleeping on Olabisi Johnson. Johnson, who played a big role for the Vikings when they were without Adam Thielen for much of last season, seems primed to breakout in his sophomore year.
All of those stats look pretty pedestrian, but they come from a guy who was hardly expected to play as he was behind the best one-two receiver duo in the NFL and the already established Chad Beebe. Of course Beebe got injured, and so did Thielen, and that opened up the door for Bisi to start making plays.
Now, I am also hyped up on Jefferson and I think long-term he is going to be the next Vikings superstar receiver. However, reports are that he has yet to fully crack his way into the second wide receiver spot that Johnson currently has a grip on.
Keeping Bisi in a bigger role until Jefferson fully gels with Cousins and the offense is a luxury that the Vikings seem able to afford. If this was an offense that was without a star receiver already, Thielen, and also without some other excellent pass catchers (Bisi, Rudy, Irv, Cook) the expectation would be that Jefferson is ready to step up week one.
Back to Johnson. In just 31 receptions last season, he put up nearly three hundred yards and three touchdowns. He reminds me a lot of long time third down specialist Jarius Wright, who seemed to always catch first downs when called upon, and the comparison holds some water with Johnson catching 17 first downs, which means ~55% of his catches were for first downs.
Johnson has shown out again this training camp showing his impressive hands with touchdowns reminiscent of Thielen and a one-handed catch that looks a lot like a certain former New York Giants receiver who set the league on fire.
With a year of NFL experience under his belt, and a year working with one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, I expect Johnson to put up decent numbers for an NFL starter, and huge for a guy just one year removed from being a seventh round pick. Don’t be surprised if Johnson collects 500-700 receiving yards and 6-8 receiving touchdowns.
Most importantly, he’ll be a first down machine when teams are forced to focus on Thielen, Rudolph, Irv, and Cook.