This is How New Houston Texans WR Tyler Johnson Should Fit Into the Offense

Johnson could be their new slot receiver quickly

Tyler Johnson was one of the first surprise cuts on August 30th, the day teams needed to reduce their rosters to 53 players. As a player with less than four vested years in the league, he was subject to waivers, where Nick Caserio was able to claim him for the Texans.

Johnson was having an excellent camp, leading the Buccaneers in receptions and yards in the preseason.

For his first 2 seasons in Tampa Bay, Johnson was buried on the depth chart behind elite, big name talent. Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, and Rob Gronkowski were Tom Brady’s primary receiving targets, but Johnson showed well when given the opportunity. Those opportunities just didn’t come very often. This year, the Bucs added Julio Jones and Russell Gage to the WR corps, leaving Johnson a very difficult path to the 53 man roster.

Johnson was a college football monster at Minnesota, where he set multiple school records. He holds the records for receiving yards and receiving touchdowns for the Golden Gophers, and is second all-time in receptions at the school. He was first team All-Big Ten his junior and senior seasons.

Johnson is not particularly fast, but is considered a strong route runner who knows how to use his strength, timing and body control to win contested-catch battles.

While Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins are firmly entrenched as WR1 and WR2, Johnson should at least be in the mix to be WR3 playing in the slot. He could seize that role completely fairly quickly if he continues to progress.