Why didn’t the Indianapolis Colts use Marcus Johnson sooner? The kid’s a beast.
In all the offseason analysis we did of the Colts’ weapons under Philip Rivers’ tutelage, none of us touched on the potential impact of Marcus Johnson.
And why would we have done so?
The Longhorns wideout has largely bounced around in the league over the past four years when he’s been even remotely healthy. He’s been a Super Bowl champion with the Eagles, a part of the Michael Bennett trade, and an on-and-off Colt for the past three seasons, his first big chance ruined by an ankle injury in Week 6 of 2018.
Acknowledging the fact that Johnson has been largely laid up the past few years, it’s certainly worth asking why he hasn’t found a consistent toehold on the roster prior to midway through this 2020 season.
Marcus Johnson (@Mojomdj) is one of the best NFL stories to come out of @TexasFootball in the last decade. Showed up in big games on the 40, smashed his pro day, made the league as an UDFA and continues to make plays. https://t.co/xsynScMb1Z
— Jeff Howe (@JeffHowe247) October 18, 2020
Week 14 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season was theoretically Johnson’s breakout; he caught three balls for 105 yards, highlighted by a 46-yard touchdown.
And yet, even after that, Johnson found himself off the roster on Sept. 5 of this year, just a few months after being re-signed on a one-year deal in mid-April. Sept. 23 marked his return to the organization and practice squad, in a season where familiar depth is more important than ever with so much roster uncertainty week-to-week.
When we finally saw Johnson this season in Week 4 against the Bears, and more so in Week 5 against Cleveland, it became extremely unclear why he was hidden for so long. He snagged all four targets thrown his way in those two games. He sprinted downfield, opening up the offense for all-time gunslinger Philip Rivers; he averaged 22.5 yards on those four catches, changing the trajectory of this offense.
Naturally, his career-high 108 yards on five catches the very next week made the team’s ridiculous comeback over the Bengals possible; without a downfield threat like Johnson, the chunk plays that helped key the momentum change would’ve been far more difficult to come by.
Whatever Colts’ fans that are still awake, where in the world did Marcus Johnson come from. Dude made huge plays to help Indy get back into the game against the Bengals.
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) October 22, 2020
We’re not sure why a Colts team that seemingly knew it had something special in Johnson continued to mess with his trajectory these past few seasons.
On the positive side of things, he’s certainly established himself now, and will not be removed from the equation anytime soon. It’s fair to ask, however, why this button wasn’t pressed sooner.
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