RB Kerryon Johnson, Free Agent (2 Viewers)

[msommer]

My wife had never heard of him until I watched the Iron Bowl yesterday.  She asked if he was named after luggage.  I scored big when I married her.

Stop with the ####ed up names, parents

 

[Ilov80s]

Then there isn't much to worry about.

He can easily add another 5 to 10 lbs if the Lions want him to.

Except that adding 5 or 10 pounds would likely make him slower and less agile. I'd prefer he play at what is most comfortable with, I just hope he can hold up. He seems to run upright which leads to taking bigger hits. Combine that with his lower BMI and I could see him getting banged up. I like the landing spot for him though and I think it's a nice situation. 

 

[Snorkelson]

I wasn't comparing their style of play, I'm saying I could see him putting up the same type of stats which if I remember right were good but not amazing and I'd think if Johnson did do as good as bells best season you would be quite happy.

I didn't look it up but I'm pretty sure he had a couple of years of over 1000 yards total and double digit tds. Not everyone can be a superstar/stud. Most people and I'm sure all lions fans would be elated if he produced similar stats. But yeah you keep hoping for 1500 total yards and 30 tds because lots of RBs produce like that.

I think there’s a lot of room to be “better than joique” and 1500/30. 

Joique player card

I think you’re point is valid, if Joique was as good as you thought. But no, most of us won’t be happy with a best season of 1175 total yds. Also, I, and other lions fans here I believe, don’t measure success based on how we compare to other lions teams. You have to compare yourself to the best if you want to get there. It’s easy to say “well, they aren’t as bad as they used to be, so we’re happy.”

I also take a bit of issue with the “he’s built like” arguements up thread. No one I’ve seen is built quite like this guy- he has really long limbs (it seems, guess I never looked at the measurements.) I don’t know if that helps or what, but I find it hard to compare. Yes, I suppose he’s outside the ideal BMI, he’s a little tall, but I think there was a market for this guy. The fact that we moved up so we didn’t get stuck with guice says something.

 

[Snorkelson]

Also, it’s pretty obvious I’m a lions fan, so I also peddle hope in the offseason and think “this will be the year” every year. 

 

[Ilov80s]

Those are positive but all three of them averaged more ypc in college than Johnson's 4.8 ( Bell 5.0, Ingram 5.7, Kamara 6.2)

True. Kerryon is far from a perfect prospect but neither was Ingram, Bell or Kamara. They all had some concerns and have turned out to be valuable NFL  players. While clearly Kerryon isn't the cleanest prospect in the draft, he's got strong positives: carried a major workload in the SEC, super productive, testing showed adequate speed and agility with exceptional explosiveness. 

 

[Bfrahm3]

I think there’s a lot of room to be “better than joique” and 1500/30. 

Joique player card

I think you’re point is valid, if Joique was as good as you thought. But no, most of us won’t be happy with a best season of 1175 total yds. Also, I, and other lions fans here I believe, don’t measure success based on how we compare to other lions teams. You have to compare yourself to the best if you want to get there. It’s easy to say “well, they aren’t as bad as they used to be, so we’re happy.”

I also take a bit of issue with the “he’s built like” arguements up thread. No one I’ve seen is built quite like this guy- he has really long limbs (it seems, guess I never looked at the measurements.) I don’t know if that helps or what, but I find it hard to compare. Yes, I suppose he’s outside the ideal BMI, he’s a little tall, but I think there was a market for this guy. The fact that we moved up so we didn’t get stuck with guice says something.

I'm not saying he cant be better then joique, just saying that the lions have been terrible in the run game whether it's how they play or just the rbs they have had recently so while I don't see that much upside in Johnson I think him having a couple 1100-1200 yard seasons would be very good

 

[matuski]

I'm not saying he cant be better then joique, just saying that the lions have been terrible in the run game whether it's how they play or just the rbs they have had recently so while I don't see that much upside in Johnson I think him having a couple 1100-1200 yard seasons would be very good

There are a whole list of reasons to throw away recent history in regard to expectations this year moving forward.

 

[nysfl2]

I'm not excited about a RB who averages less than 5.0 per carry and does not seem explosive. Looks like a grinder.  Adding to the sorrow giving up a high draft choice to move up.  Multiplying my distrust is Quinn playing buddy-buddy with the Patriots. With Quinn and now Patricia and now the Patriot/Lion trades we on the surface look like we are becoming a Pats minor league team.

To me trying to emulate another franchise as a whole doesn't work. You need to become your own person develop your identity find what works for you.

I'd say that we've given this one a fair shot, and it hasn't been working out for us. I'm willing to try a different road.

 

[Ilov80s]

For dynasty, I think Kerryon might need a year marinate but in 2019 he could be an RB1. I would expect Blount and Ameer to be gone by then. The OL could be at it's best with Decker in S4, Ragnow in S2, Crosby in S2, Glasgow in S4, Wagner at age 30 and Lang at 32. 

 

[Ilov80s]

I'd say that we've given this one a fair shot, and it hasn't been working out for us. I'm willing to try a different road.

I have heard several analysts refer to Detroit as "New England Midwest" or "The Patriots of the NFC". I am fine with that comparison.

 

[-OZ-]

I agree that his 4.8  YPC is a concern but I think a big part of that is he is a workhorse in the SEC. He was was the focus of every defense he went against. As for explosiveness, Kerryon tested out as an athlete with a ton of burst at the combine. His profile was actually very similar to Kamara. 

Only half a yard less than guice this year. Equal to Scarborough. 

I have heard several analysts refer to Detroit as "New England Midwest" or "The Patriots of the NFC". I am fine with that comparison.

Seems a really weird comp off hand. Considering as far as winning in the playoffs they're basically the anti-patriots.

 

[Ilov80s]

Only half a yard less than guice this year. Equal to Scarborough. 

Seems a really weird comp off hand. Considering as far as winning in the playoffs they're basically the anti-patriots.

It has more to do with the fact they hired a Pats guy at GM, coach and that they keep trading with the Patriots. I am sure the multiple Super Bowls are just around the corner. 

 

[-OZ-]

It has more to do with the fact they hired a Pats guy at GM, coach and that they keep trading with the Patriots. I am sure the multiple Super Bowls are just around the corner. 

It's a good thing that the pats former coordinators have an elite history of success.

 

[Biabreakable]

Except that adding 5 or 10 pounds would likely make him slower and less agile. I'd prefer he play at what is most comfortable with, I just hope he can hold up. He seems to run upright which leads to taking bigger hits. Combine that with his lower BMI and I could see him getting banged up. I like the landing spot for him though and I think it's a nice situation. 

It could or maybe it wouldn't.

He is a physical RB who finishes his runs strong. As I have already discussed with Donnybrook I disagree somewhat about him running too upright. I have seen him get good pad level and leverage before contact on most of his runs in the clips I have watched. This guy can just tunnel his way for yardage.

Its a fair question about if he can stay healthy and if his running style puts him at greater risk to be injured. From what I have been able to learn Johnson has had 2 shoulder injuries that required surgery.but nothing as severe as the knee injuries like some of these RB have in their history. So I wonder a bit why Johnson is getting this criticism but not Chubb or Michel?

Kerryon Johnson's Troublesome Injury History Of No Concern To Quinn

 

[Ilov80s]

It's a good thing that the pats former coordinators have an elite history of success.

Yeah, I am not actually excited about Patricia at all. There were several coaches I preferred to him- including Caldwell. 

 

[Ilov80s]

It could or maybe it wouldn't.

He is a physical RB who finishes his runs strong. As I have already discussed with Donnybrook I disagree somewhat about him running too upright. I have seen him get good pad level and leverage before contact on most of his runs in the clips I have watched. This guy can just tunnel his way for yardage.

Its a fair question about if he can stay healthy and if his running style puts him at greater risk to be injured. From what I have been able to learn Johnson has had 2 shoulder injuries that required surgery.but nothing as severe as the knee injuries like some of these RB have in their history. So I wonder a bit why Johnson is getting this criticism but not Chubb or Michel?

Kerryon Johnson's Troublesome Injury History Of No Concern To Quinn

Kerryon does have a lower BMI than Chubb or Sony, but I think the main reason Karryon gets knocked is a mix of primetime bias and recency bias. If people saw Kerryon play this year, the game they were most likely to have seen was against Alabama. During that game he was hurt and I believe had to come out of the game a few time with a shoulder injury. He was constantly getting it looked at and he just looked like he could barely use the arm. I think that memory from that late season big game left people with a tainted view of him. However, even Quinn acknowledged that injuries were a concern as Kerryon has had 1 hand surgery, 2 shoulder surgeries and problems with is hamstring, ankle and ribs. 

 

[Biabreakable]

Kerryon does have a lower BMI than Chubb or Sony, but I think the main reason Karryon gets knocked is a mix of primetime bias and recency bias. If people saw Kerryon play this year, the game they were most likely to have seen was against Alabama. During that game he was hurt and I believe had to come out of the game a few time with a shoulder injury. He was constantly getting it looked at and he just looked like he could barely use the arm. I think that memory from that late season big game left people with a tainted view of him. However, even Quinn acknowledged that injuries were a concern as Kerryon has had 1 hand surgery, 2 shoulder surgeries and problems with is hamstring, ankle and ribs. 

I think one of the biggest myths in the NFL is that size and weight helps a player to prevent injuries.

I do not see how it does at all.

 

[-OZ-]

Kerryon does have a lower BMI than Chubb or Sony, but I think the main reason Karryon gets knocked is a mix of primetime bias and recency bias. If people saw Kerryon play this year, the game they were most likely to have seen was against Alabama. During that game he was hurt and I believe had to come out of the game a few time with a shoulder injury. He was constantly getting it looked at and he just looked like he could barely use the arm. I think that memory from that late season big game left people with a tainted view of him. However, even Quinn acknowledged that injuries were a concern as Kerryon has had 1 hand surgery, 2 shoulder surgeries and problems with is hamstring, ankle and ribs. 

Yep.

Not the only time I saw him but that definitely left a negative mark in my memory. I missed that he was hurt.

 

[Ilov80s]

I think one of the biggest myths in the NFL is that size and weight helps a player to prevent injuries.

I do not see how it does at all.

I don't know if it is a myth or not, but it makes intuitive sense to me. The tough part is how much of a difference in weight would matter? Are there certain thresholds? Plus how the weight is distributed would be important. I tend to agree with you if Kerryon struggles with injuries in his career, his weight/BMI isn't likely why. 

 

[FreeBaGeL]

I don't know if it is a myth or not, but it makes intuitive sense to me. The tough part is how much of a difference in weight would matter? Are there certain thresholds? Plus how the weight is distributed would be important. I tend to agree with you if Kerryon struggles with injuries in his career, his weight/BMI isn't likely why. 

There are so many things in football that intuitively make sense but don't really work out that way empyrically (not saying this is one of those, I haven't actually seen any data on it to know the answer). 

 

[Biabreakable]

So I just watched this Alabama game again. Maybe some folks can point out some plays for me where Johnson is running too high?

I see him lowering the boom and getting under the defenders pads before contact on most of these plays. I didn't chart this game but just based on watching it full speed just now, I saw 5 or more instances of him running with good pad level which is not bad at all.

Maybe it was another game where he is running too upright?

 

[Biabreakable]

I don't know if it is a myth or not, but it makes intuitive sense to me. The tough part is how much of a difference in weight would matter? Are there certain thresholds? Plus how the weight is distributed would be important. I tend to agree with you if Kerryon struggles with injuries in his career, his weight/BMI isn't likely why. 

Maybe myth is too strong a word.

I am not even sure how one might try to set up an experiment to test this theory one way or the other. It would need to be better defined I think and it would be hard to do.

For over 30 years now I have been hearing the ideal weight for a RB is 220 lbs Johnson was 5 pounds lighter than this at the combine, a player can add or lose 5 lbs pretty easily. Its really nitpicky to me.

 

[cloppbeast]

I don't believe nobody's worried about his indecisiveness and lack of get-up. He ran a decent 40, but he needs a runway. A less heralded Trent Richardson. 

 

[Biabreakable]

I don't believe nobody's worried about his indecisiveness and lack of get-up. He ran a decent 40, but he needs a runway. A less heralded Trent Richardson. 

Richardson couldn't read defenses or his blocking. I don't see that being an issue with Johnson. 

I will agree with you that he is indecisive at times but I don't see him lacking burst or get up once he does decide to lay the wood. The burst is very good so I am not sure what you mean by the runway comment. He has good short area quickness, just doesn't have home run top speed.

 

[cloppbeast]

Richardson couldn't read defenses or his blocking. I don't see that being an issue with Johnson. 

I will agree with you that he is indecisive at times but I don't see him lacking burst or get up once he does decide to lay the wood. The burst is very good so I am not sure what you mean by the runway comment. He has good short area quickness, just doesn't have home run top speed.

If he has short area quickness, I don't see it.

 

[Ilov80s]

Richardson couldn't read defenses or his blocking. I don't see that being an issue with Johnson. 

I will agree with you that he is indecisive at times but I don't see him lacking burst or get up once he does decide to lay the wood. The burst is very good so I am not sure what you mean by the runway comment. He has good short area quickness, just doesn't have home run top speed.

I agree with this and it matches with the combine/pro day numbers. I still don’t see a guy worth a 2nd round trade up pick.

 

[Biabreakable]

If he has short area quickness, I don't see it.

I don't think its that hard to see him make defenders miss with good footwork or to see the burst he generates once he does hit it up field.

From the Alabama game again. How about his run at the 30 second mark? See any short area quickness there? Also does he finish this run with good pad level?

The run at the 1:30 mark of the above clip doesn't get much yardage, but you can see the burst and pad level on this play, he finds the hole then hits it quickly even though there is a defender there to wrap him up. He falls forward because he isn't running upright at the point of contact. The run just after this you see him gain 2-3 extra yards after contact due to good pad level and burst which I also call short area quickness.

The run at the 3:44 mark is another example of burst and short area quickness. The run at the 4:24 mark there isn't really much there but he is able to get skinny and burst through this small crease for a decent gain which to me demonstrates burst or short area quickness, very good pad level on this run as well.

How about the run at the 7:23 mark? Great quickness to the hole here and then he is able to use a spin move to avoid a tackle keep his balance and extend the play to the outside.

This is not even Johnsons best game. He is going against the best defense in college football who is playing some pretty heavy boxes against him and reportedly was hurt during this game but was gutting through it anyways. I don't see any runways for him being presented by the defense.

My main criticism of Johnson from this game is he fails several of his pass protection assignments. He does do a good job on about as many blocks as he fails, but some of those blocks were pretty bad.

 

[Biabreakable]

I agree with this and it matches with the combine/pro day numbers. I still don’t see a guy worth a 2nd round trade up pick.

The price is something I am not sure about either. I still think Guice is a better player so a bit of a head scratcher as to what the Lions were thinking with this move.

I do think Johnson is good though, just wouldn't have been my choice with the RB that were available to the Lions. If they have drafted Guice it would worry me a bit more as a Vikings fan than Johnson does.

 

[cloppbeast]

I don't think its that hard to see him make defenders miss with good footwork or to see the burst he generates once he does hit it up field.

From the Alabama game again. How about his run at the 30 second mark? See any short area quickness there? Also does he finish this run with good pad level?

The run at the 1:30 mark of the above clip doesn't get much yardage, but you can see the burst and pad level on this play, he finds the hole then hits it quickly even though there is a defender there to wrap him up. He falls forward because he isn't running upright at the point of contact. The run just after this you see him gain 2-3 extra yards after contact due to good pad level and burst which I also call short area quickness.

The run at the 3:44 mark is another example of burst and short area quickness. The run at the 4:24 mark there isn't really much there but he is able to get skinny and burst through this small crease for a decent gain which to me demonstrates burst or short area quickness, very good pad level on this run as well.

How about the run at the 7:23 mark? Great quickness to the hole here and then he is able to use a spin move to avoid a tackle keep his balance and extend the play to the outside.

This is not even Johnsons best game. He is going against the best defense in college football who is playing some pretty heavy boxes against him and reportedly was hurt during this game but was gutting through it anyways. I don't see any runways for him being presented by the defense.

My main criticism of Johnson from this game is he fails several of his pass protection assignments. He does do a good job on about as many blocks as he fails, but some of those blocks were pretty bad.

I'll give you he has some elusiveness and agility to make defenders miss sometimes.

 

[Faust]

Lions hit ground running with trade for Johnson

 

[ZWK]

Copying my thoughts over from another thread:

To say a little more about why I'm down on Kerryon Johnson. First, a lack of big plays. He had a grand total of 14 20+ yard runs over the course of his career, when an average RB would've had about 24 of them. So, he was well below average at breaking off long runs, while most promising prospects are above average. Second, PFF has him below average yards after contact per attempt and average at missed tackles per attempt. Again, most good prospects are above average. Finally, there's the fact that he didn't beat out Kamryn Pettway, who is the same class year and a bad NFL prospect. In 2016 Pettway was Auburn's RB 1a to Johnson's 1b, and in 2017 Johnson took over the workhorse role by default with Pettway missing most of the season.

The main points in Johnson's favor are that he jumped really well at the combine and was effective in short yardage situations.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

To say a little more about why I'm down on Kerryon Johnson. First, a lack of big plays. He had a grand total of 14 20+ yard runs over the course of his career, when an average RB would've had about 24 of them. So, he was well below average at breaking off long runs, while most promising prospects are above average. Second, PFF has him below average yards after contact per attempt and average at missed tackles per attempt. Again, most good prospects are above average. Finally, there's the fact that he didn't beat out Kamryn Pettway, who is the same class year and a bad NFL prospect. In 2016 Pettway was Auburn's RB 1a to Johnson's 1b, and in 2017 Johnson took over the workhorse role by default with Pettway missing most of the season.

The main points in Johnson's favor are that he jumped really well at the combine and was effective in short yardage situations.

The first two points are worrisome but the 3rd seems to happen fairly often, right?  I mean from last year alone Alvin Kamara was the lesser third of a 3-way committee with Jon Kelly and Jalen Hurd, and Joe Mixon was the 1b behind Samaje Perine.

 

[Ilov80s]

Copying my thoughts over from another thread:

The success of Kerryon vs Guice will be something that is very important for determining the future of Quinn in Detroit. I get that the Lions want to have a certain culture, but the difference in talent here seems glaring. 

 

[Ilov80s]

The first two points are worrisome but the 3rd seems to happen fairly often, right?  I mean from last year alone Alvin Kamara was the lesser third of a 3-way committee with Jon Kelly and Jalen Hurd, and Joe Mixon was the 1b behind Samaje Perine.

Right and it's not like Karryon was riding the bench in 2016. He had 1000 yards and 11 TDs. Again 5 yards per touch leaves a lot to be desired, but he was a key part of the Auburn offense as a 19 year old sophomore which is impressive IMO. 

 

[ZWK]

To say a little more about why I'm down on Kerryon Johnson. First, a lack of big plays. He had a grand total of 14 20+ yard runs over the course of his career, when an average RB would've had about 24 of them. So, he was well below average at breaking off long runs, while most promising prospects are above average. Second, PFF has him below average yards after contact per attempt and average at missed tackles per attempt. Again, most good prospects are above average. Finally, there's the fact that he didn't beat out Kamryn Pettway, who is the same class year and a bad NFL prospect. In 2016 Pettway was Auburn's RB 1a to Johnson's 1b, and in 2017 Johnson took over the workhorse role by default with Pettway missing most of the season.

The main points in Johnson's favor are that he jumped really well at the combine and was effective in short yardage situations.

The first two points are worrisome but the 3rd seems to happen fairly often, right?  I mean from last year alone Alvin Kamara was the lesser third of a 3-way committee with Jon Kelly and Jalen Hurd, and Joe Mixon was the 1b behind Samaje Perine.

It happens some, but not a ton. Winning a workhorse role is a good sign and not doing so is a bad sign, even though it's not a perfect indicator.

And often the better prospect is sitting behind someone older / more established - Hurd was in Tennessee before Kamara was, and Perine was playing for Oklahoma a year before Mixon was. It is more concerning to be 1b alongside someone who joined the team at the same time as you, like Johnson alongside Pettway. Also, when it happens the other guy is often a pretty strong prospect himself, like Perine who went in the 4th round of the draft. It is more concerning to share the backfield with someone like Pettway (or Hurd).

 

[Ilov80s]

It happens some, but not a ton. Winning a workhorse role is a good sign and not doing so is a bad sign, even though it's not a perfect indicator.

And often the better prospect is sitting behind someone older / more established - Hurd was in Tennessee before Kamara was, and Perine was playing for Oklahoma a year before Mixon was. It is more concerning to be 1b alongside someone who joined the team at the same time as you, like Johnson alongside Pettway. Also, when it happens the other guy is often a pretty strong prospect himself, like Perine who went in the 4th round of the draft. It is more concerning to share the backfield with someone like Pettway (or Hurd).

Arkansas averaged 50 runs per game in 2016. Even if Kerryon was Todd Gurley good, Pettway would have gotten 15-20 carries a game. 

 

[ZWK]

In 2016, Johnson had fewer carries than Pettway (182 vs. 209) in more games (12 vs. 9). In the 8 games that they both appeared in, Pettway outtouched Johnson on offense by an average of 23.0 to 13.4.  2017 Auburn season previews either talked about them as rough equals in a split backfiled or they talked up Pettway as the featured back with Johnson as a strong second stringer.  As late as week 8 of the 2017 season, Rotoworld was saying "With all due respect to Kerryon Johnson, [Pettway] is the best back in the Auburn system."

If a Todd Gurley caliber prospect had shared the roster with Pettway, I expect that these things would've happened differently.

 

[Ilov80s]

In 2016, Johnson had fewer carries than Pettway (182 vs. 209) in more games (12 vs. 9). In the 8 games that they both appeared in, Pettway outtouched Johnson on offense by an average of 23.0 to 13.4.  2017 Auburn season previews either talked about them as rough equals in a split backfiled or they talked up Pettway as the featured back with Johnson as a strong second stringer.  As late as week 8 of the 2017 season, Rotoworld was saying "With all due respect to Kerryon Johnson, [Pettway] is the best back in the Auburn system."

If a Todd Gurley caliber prospect had shared the roster with Pettway, I expect that these things would've happened differently.

Kerryon hurt his ankle around week 5 or 6 that year (which is another one of the concerns with him). When Kerryon came back from injury, his workload mostly shrank (except for games Pettway missed). Maybe an Auburn fan can speak better to how healthy Kerryon was for the 2nd half of that season. 

 

[Biabreakable]

In 2016, Johnson had fewer carries than Pettway (182 vs. 209) in more games (12 vs. 9). In the 8 games that they both appeared in, Pettway outtouched Johnson on offense by an average of 23.0 to 13.4.  2017 Auburn season previews either talked about them as rough equals in a split backfiled or they talked up Pettway as the featured back with Johnson as a strong second stringer.  As late as week 8 of the 2017 season, Rotoworld was saying "With all due respect to Kerryon Johnson, [Pettway] is the best back in the Auburn system."

If a Todd Gurley caliber prospect had shared the roster with Pettway, I expect that these things would've happened differently.

I am not completely buying this.

In the 2016 season Pettway didn't play in their season opener against Clemson, Johnson did and he had 23 rushing attempts 94 yards and a TD in a losing effort.

Pettway returned to the line up in the 2nd game of the 2016 and he had 15 carries to Johnsons 18 seems like a pretty even split to me. Both RB had good days against Arkansas State.

In the 3rd game against Texas A&M Pettway had 20 rushing attempts Johnson had 15 kind of flipping the distribution from the previous week.

Game 4 Johnson had 22 carries while Pettway had 17.

Game 5 Pettway did not play and Johnson had 24 carries against Louisiana Monroe.

Game 6 Johnson must have been injured as he only had 3 carries while Pettway had 39 carries.

Game 7 Johnson did not play and Pettway had 27 carries against Arkansas.

Game 8 Johnson returned to the line up but only had 11 carries to Pettways 30 against Mississippi.

Game 9 Pettway had 25 rushing attempts and Johnson only had 9 carries against Vanderbilt.

Game 10 Pettway does not play in this game and Johnson has 22 carries against Georgia.

Game 11 Johnson had 18 carries and Pettway did not play in this game either against Alabama A&M.

Game 12 against Alabama Pettway returned to the line up and had 12 carries for 17 yards, Johnson had 8 carries for 39 yards in this game.

Game 13 Pettway had 24 carries while Johnson had 9 carries against Oklahoma.

The difference in opportunities is not that great and influenced by when the other RB was injured or missed games. That 39 carry game by Pettway while Johnson only had 3 completely covers the 27 rushing attempt difference between the two RB for the season.

Pettway did more work in the last game of their season against Oklahoma in a losing effort is the main indicator I see of him perhaps being the starter. I do not know how healthy Johnson was at this time, he didn't have 18 or more carries since Game 11.

Given that Auburn averaged 45.9 rushing attempts per game there was plenty of opportunity for both RB to have a lot of carries.

I don't think anyone has compared Johnson to a Gurley like prospect, but he was a high 2nd round pick by the Lions in the 2018 draft and the 6th RB selected in a very good RB draft class and he did perform better overall than Pettway did for Auburn.

 

[Faust]

Lions general manager Bob Quinn said he's not worried about RB Kerryon Johnson's durability.

"I think this guy’s very versatile that he can run inside, but I think we’ll probably use him more to run outside as well," Quinn continued. "He’ll hold up." The Detroit Free Press' Dave Birkett added he'd be surprised if Johnson doesn't lead the team in carries. The Lions surrendered the No. 51 and 117 picks in order to move up and draft Johnson, and it seems likely they'll give the rookie every opportunity to take over their backfield. Ameer Abdullah is expected to be a frequent candidate on the inactives list if the team doesn't deal or release him in camp.

Related: Lions

Source: Detroit Free Press 

Apr 29 - 8:08 PM

 

[Faust]

NFL Media Senior Fantasy Analyst Michael Fabiano breaks down running back Kerryon Johnson's fantasy value

 

[Ilov80s]

Lions general manager Bob Quinn said he's not worried about RB Kerryon Johnson's durability.

"I think this guy’s very versatile that he can run inside, but I think we’ll probably use him more to run outside as well," Quinn continued. "He’ll hold up." The Detroit Free Press' Dave Birkett added he'd be surprised if Johnson doesn't lead the team in carries. The Lions surrendered the No. 51 and 117 picks in order to move up and draft Johnson, and it seems likely they'll give the rookie every opportunity to take over their backfield. Ameer Abdullah is expected to be a frequent candidate on the inactives list if the team doesn't deal or release him in camp.

Related: Lions

Source: Detroit Free Press 

Apr 29 - 8:08 PM

That goes without saying. Why would they trade up in the 2nd to take a guy and then say "we are really concerned about his durability". 

 

[BigTex]

Dynasty wise I’m taking him after the big 4. The Draft sometimes makes you go back and see what you missed. I will gladly take him as others pass him up.

Tex

 

[bostonfred]

Dynasty wise I’m taking him after the big 4. The Draft sometimes makes you go back and see what you missed. I will gladly take him as others pass him up.

Tex

Which 4 are the big 4

 

[BigTex]

Barkley, Guice, Michel and Chubb.

Tex

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Which 4 are the big 4

That's a good question. I expect all four of my rookie drafts to look completely different for the first time in a long time.

 

[BigTex]

That's a good question. I expect all four of my rookie drafts to look completely different for the first time in a long time.

My top players didn’t change too much. The draft did/should make every owner to go back to the drawing board to some degree.

Tex

 

[Faust]

Greg Cosell analyzes Lions' 2018 draft picks

Excerpt:

Round 2 (43) Kerryon Johnson, RB, Auburn

Cosell: "Johnson is a very patient runner with excellent vision and feel for reading his blocks and finding holes at the line of scrimmage. Johnson is a prime example of speed through the hole not speed to the hole. His short area burst consistently showed up and was a defining trait of his running.

"What consistently stood out about Johnson was he was a highly competitive runner, who ran with physicality and toughness and courage inside and squeezed every inch out of every run.

"My sense is Johnson would be most effective in a run game whose foundation was more gap scheme than zone, although he could be effective running inside zone. The question is whether Johnson transitions to the NFL as a workhorse back. He's a four-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust type of runner without an explosive dimension to his game. He is not a game breaking type of runner, but a sustainer who can keep an offense on schedule.

"He runs hard. He's a hard, hard runner."

 

[jon_mx]

Lions will regret not staying put and getting Guice.  

 

[Hankmoody]

Barkley, Guice, Michel and Chubb.

Tex

BLASPHEMY.

Penny traitor.