The NFL draft stock of this Texas wide receiver has taken quite a tumble
The 2020 NFL scouting combine was considered a huge opportunity for Texas receiver Collin Johnson to move up the draft board after a disappointing senior season in which he missed four games due to injury.
Johnson, who came into the season the No. 1 senior wide receiver and a potential first-round pick after 68 catches for 985 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior, caught just 35 passes for 497 yards and two touchdowns in just six starts in 2019.
At the combine this week he hoped to show he was healthy and that he could prove the doubters wrong by clocking a sub 4.7-second time in the 40.
But the disappointing season has carried into the pre-draft process for Johnson, who will not run at the combine this week because of a hip flexor injury suffered in pre-combine workouts. He plans to run at the Texas Pro Day in about five weeks.
“That hurts,” Johnson said Tuesday. “You grow up watching the combine and your whole life it’s ‘I can’t wait to prove myself.’ That is going to be on hold for me. I am going to be ready April 1.”
Johnson’s draft stock has taken quite a tumble. After being widely considered to be a first-round pick before the 2019 season, Johnson is currently projected to go no higher than the fourth-round.
“I think the injuries affected my stock,” Johnson said. “At the end of the day, I am better because of it. I am a better man. I am a better football player. It taught me to appreciate the time you are out on the field cause it could be taken away from you at any given moment. I’m appreciative of every opportunity you get.”
Johnson had considered declaring for the draft a year ago, but changed his mind at the last minute. He says he has no regrets and would make the same decision again.
“I thought it was best to stay in school,” Johnson said. “The senior season went nothing like I wanted it to. But you live and you learn. ... I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Now, the goal for the 6-foot-5 Johnson is to avoid the fate of former Texas receiver L.J. Humphrey, who went undrafted in 2019 after declaring early due to a slow time in the 40.
Like Humphrey, Johnson dominated in college because of his size and is known for making contested catches in traffic. But there were questions about his speed.
Humphrey ran a disappointing 4.75 laser time at the combine before improving to a hand-time 4.61 at the Texas Pro Day.
Johnson is shooting for a 4.5 time in the 40. A 4.7 would be another disaster.
But he said his focus is on doing his best and being the best football player he can be.
“It’s important,” Johnson said of the 40. “But if you look at the NFL, it’s people who can create separation all the time. A lot of guys who can do that have long careers in the NFL. You talk about Cris Carter, he ran a 4.7. Jerry Rice, Larry Fitzgerald, it’s about finding that edge and how you can get open, even if you’re not faster than the guy you are going against.”
