All the “experts” were up in arms about this pick, but trying to defend against his/VY’s speed will be a big problem for DC’s. Considering how often 1st Round receivers are busts, I think its a good pick.

And to jc’s question, two things: 1) It’s hard to really draft with 3rd and longs in mind. If you’re building a solid team, those sorts of things shouldn’t be problems often. But, expect to see Johnson used like a Reggie Bush in these 3rd and longs, he has great hands and the coaches have already said he’ll line up at receiver sometimes.

2) Give Heimerdinger a chance at OC. He did wonders for the Titans offense in the past. He’s been high on the receivers…I think Gage, Williams, and possibly Hawkins may surprise some people next year.

I don’t think this will help VY more than a tall receiver will. The titans finished 3rd in rushing last year, while finishing 27th in passing! The glaring need on this team certainly wasn’t a RB. It is WR. Lendale White put up some pretty decent numbers this year and no matter who is the RB in the backfield, VY will make that back that much better. Every single TN game I watched this season (And I watched almost all of them) pissed me off to no end because he had one of the worst groups of receivers I’ve ever seen a QB have. They needed a WR, and if they did not want to spend first round money on one, surely, they could have picked up some value in the 2nd. I just don’t know how you can be so positive about this draft situation. No disrespect to the nice looking RB up there, but wtf?!

I spoke for this when it happened here.

Defenses will absolutely have to defend against Johnson. He may not bust the seams as frequently as he did against ECU opponents, but, damn, if your safeties aren’t in position, he’s gone. The strategy of keeping two defenders between VY and the goal is dead if Johnson’s on the field. It also sets up the stretch option, which they’ll run with Johnson early in the season just to show teams his speed.

Tennessee has a 6-5 WR in Mike Williams, a 6-4 in Justin Gage and a 6-3 in Brin Ealey from Houston. Gage and Ealey as second year players and Jeff Fisher has noted their great improvement, as well as that of Williams. Of the nine receivers in camp, only two are under 6-0: Chris Davis 5-10 and the newly drafted Lavelle Hawkins at 5-11. And Fisher noted the need for a smaller receiver. Williams needs to be that third down receiver over the middle. Now up to a matured 242, he can give VY a hell of a target with long arms (if he can return to SC form). Ealy has good speed and should force some match-up problems. Plus, Fisher seems to be guarding against injuries crippling the attack; he’s also keeping four TEs.

I suspect we’ll see VY running less and less early in the season – and that will also help his effectiveness. If defenses key on his running, that has to open lanes downfield. As soon as defenses are pretty sure he’s not running, then they’ll back off. This is exactly the type of option that VY needs on the field: the intuitive go-or-no he can see and feel in action.

And last, there’s just no way to defend 4.24 speed unless you spread the defense out. Third and short is one thing until Johnson splits out and the D has to take someone out of the box or bring over a safety.

The last thing I like about Johnson is that he seems to have a bit of Dorsett’s ability to make people miss. A highlight film won’t show the hard hits on him, but you do see him sliding by a lot of tacklers with last-second adjustments.

Johnson’s ability to accelerate and outrun the angle of pursuit is just staggering. That last run is a hell of an example. VY and Texas 05 had plenty of speed relative to their opponents, even SC. That’s exactly what he hasn’t had at Tennessee. I hope they get even more.

Last, in response to saveadre, the kinds of catches from the type of receiver you’re talking about only constitute a small part of the passing game, probably less than 10% and probably more like 5%. True, he didn’t have a TO or a stopper beside Shaife, but the real need was a stable of pass catchers which can then be upgraded. Tennessee has needed OL help, some DL and LB help and corners, so they had a lot of needs to address at once. Even if they had gotten a key receiver, he’d still be a rookie and probably not that productive; if injured, his value is gone for the season.

So, Fisher and VY had 10 wins last year and are looking for two more this year. That takes more D as well as stable pass catching. That’s what this draft was about: two wins and deeper in the playoffs. I trust Fisher’s instinct and coaching ability. He is defensive oriented (as a former safety) and let’s his OC do his job.

It was my observation last year Tennessee merely had the offense used as much time as possible to keep the defense off the field. Boring offense, yes; certainly boring for VY most of the time except late in the game. But the strategy helped keep the defense relatively healthy and strong the whole season, unlike prior seasons. I think the D will be stronger and thus they’ll let VY loose more not to maximize time of possession, but to try to score much more. These draft selections fit with that sort of strategy this year.

When he hit full stride he was covering 5 yards in 2! steps. Whether or not he’ll help VY, I don’t know. But that dude is fast.

It doesn’t matter how fast the person chasing you is if he can’t catch you.

The Bear Bryant School specifically notes that additional motivation is worth an extra step or two and even the fastest runner can be caught.

Other than that, a handy stat is each tenth is a step in the 40-time. I’ve heard a lot of coaches say that and it seems to work. Some wonk here can attempt to debunk, but this is awfully convenient.

So, that would be a step on a 2.34 back, two steps at 2.44. The key for such as runner as all four of those backs is whether they have the acceleration at the key point to outrun the pursuit angle. Some backs can see or feel that point. VY is great at accelerating to a particular point. Some don’t accelerate that well.

Charles definitely had a smooth explosive ability which is close to equal that of Johnson, although I think Johnson handles his speed in a more finished and mature manner and he seems to have a more aggressive cruising speed.

I think this choice will not help the Titans. Given East Carolina’s competition, why didn’t Chris Johnson rush for 1700-2000 yards on the season? So I ask myself, what do I see in his style that is limiting?

I was struck by how much his style resembled that of Hershel Walker, but without the power. His feet seem to skate close to the ground in the same way. Similarly, he has very little lateral movement, and doesn’t make quick cuts. In every highlight, he just outran the defenders. Johnson still may do that occasionally in the NFL, but I can’t see it happening on a consistent basis. Reggie Bush is almost as fast and has three times the moves and still had a longest rush of 26 yards last season.

It’s my view that the unexpected wins in the NFL because everything is so deeply analyzed by coaches. It’s the RBs who break tackles by defenders who are where they are supposed to be (Marion Barber), or make suprising, unexpected cuts (see Ladainian Tomlinson) that make the difference.

those tackles that he is breaking against UAB and the like will not be broken against NFL talent. Most times drafting for a team is complicated. It wasn’t for the Titans though. They needed a first day RECEIVER!!! Where is this can even going to play on offense? Huh?

This has been interesting. Some seem to reply from their disappointment that Tennessee didn’t draft a prototypical WR than any deep assessment of who they did assess.

Chris Johnson isn’t so small. He’s 5-11, 195, thick-chested and strong for his size, according to the NFL combine site.

He’s a multiple threat, RB, WR and returner, all of which he is more than proficient as a four year player. And it is notable that all incoming rookies will be tackled more efficiently than they were in college. So, the Titans got a multi-dimensional threat in lieu of a specific need (tall, fast WR) which filled only one of their needs.

And one last little nugget of gold: Chris Johnson handled the ball 749 times in four years not including returns, gaining 3728 yards. In those 749 carries and receptions, he had 0 (yes, zero) fumbles.

I couldn’t find a number on the returns, but he didn’t fumble on any of those either by the overall stats on the ECU site.

This doesn’t mean he won’t in the pros; it’s merely an indicator of his propensity to hold on to the ball well.

This has been interesting. Some seem to reply from their disappointment that Tennessee didn’t draft a prototypical WR than any deep assessment of who they did assess.

Chris Johnson isn’t so small. He’s 5-11, 195, thick-chested and strong for his size, according to the NFL combine site.

He’s a multiple threat, RB, WR and returner, all of which he is more than proficient as a four year player. And it is notable that all incoming rookies will be tackled more efficiently than they were in college. So, the Titans got a multi-dimensional threat in lieu of a specific need (tall, fast WR) which filled only one of their needs.

And one last little nugget of gold: Chris Johnson handled the ball 749 times in four years not including returns, gaining 3728 yards. In those 749 carries and receptions, he had 0 (yes, zero) fumbles.

I couldn’t find a number on the returns, but he didn’t fumble on any of those either by the overall stats on the ECU site.

This doesn’t mean he won’t in the pros; it’s merely an indicator of his propensity to hold on to the ball well.

One reason this hacked off and confused many people was that they grabbed Chris Henry in the second round last year, a “speed” back that impressed at the workouts. This may not be true, but this pick coupled with Henry’s lack of production his rookie year led many to believe that they already gave up on him. If so, they just wasted a 2nd round pick. People also point out they took Lendhale in the second round, but he’s a different type of back and arguably a steal in the second round, and they’re obviously keeping him around.

Tennessee has size at receiver; they simply have no true #1 guys. Some argued that they should have done what Washington did. The Redskins traded down into the second, and in the span of one round they picked up two wide receivers with first round grades (Thomas and Kelly) and Fred Davis the TE out of USC. I agree with many that Kelly is overrated and may prove to be another one of those big receivers who lack the speed to make a huge difference (ala Mike Williams), but if you’re looking for pass weapons, that’s not bad at all.

Remember, Vince had a paltry 9 TD passes. I’m not one to simply defend Vince because he’s Vince; he made a lot of bad decisions which resulted in his bad TD-INT ratio. However, I did watch most of their games, and his receivers didn’t help. Some of his interceptions were the result of his receivers running pour routes or not fighting for the ball. He lost some TD catches due to, again, bad routes and dropped balls. For a young QB, it blows holes in your confidence if you make a good throw and your receivers can’t deliver, which happened quite a few times last season. If they had a halfway decent passing attack, they’re beating the Chargers in the playoffs (though not the Patriots, whom they would have met). Their running game can improve, as they lacked a home-run hitter like Johnson, but the fact of the matter is they need a passing game that is legitimate enough to make defenses honest. A lot of that is on VY, but there’s also a lot of onus on the receivers that he has.

Johnson is in an intriguing pick, being versatile as a receiver and a returner as well. It is too early to say much about it. Fisher is also a good coach, and perhaps he feels like the receivers he has are improving and ready. Still, I can’t blame Titan fans for feeling a bit angry and confused over this pick. After watching the consensus worst receiving corps. in the NFL last year, I understand they are frustrated they haven’t done much to upgrade it during the past two offseasons.