The gold jacket slid onto Calvin Johnson’s sculpted shoulders as if it belonged there the whole time. And the Pro Football Hall of Fame honor that comes with the jacket was easy to see early on in Johnson’s tremendous career with the Detroit Lions.
From the first day the 6-foot-5, 230-pound wideout walked into the building, Johnson was something special. Detroit’s first-round pick, No. 2 overall, in the 2007 NFL draft quickly proved he was destined for legendary greatness. Johnson’s star shone brightly above a supporting cast that might have been the worst in NFL history.
Consider this: In his second season, playing with a troika of inept QBs on the first team to ever go 0-16, Johnson led the NFL in touchdown receptions. Megatron more than doubled the catch output of any teammate. He missed having 1,000 more receiving yards than the No. 2 receiver (Shaun McDonald) by a single yard.
And he was just getting warmed up.
Adding Matthew Stafford to the mix at quarterback launched Johnson’s career to the next level. Having a consistent thrower who wasn’t afraid to offer up catch opportunities that most quarterbacks wouldn’t try and even fewer receivers could even think about completing, wow! It was a special combination.
Johnson’s blend of size, speed, strength and relentless effort to catch every single throw, no matter the accuracy, earned him wide-ranging respect around the league. Any Lions fan can tell you that’s not easy to accomplish from Detroit on a team that made the playoffs just twice in his nine seasons.
The first playoff game is probably my favorite Calvin Johnson game. The outcome didn’t go Detroit’s way, but Johnson dominated the Saints defense in a 45-28 Lions loss. His 12 catches for 211 yards and two touchdowns proved that as the stage got bigger, so too did Johnson’s game. It’s one of the most commanding postseason performances of the 21st century and it capped one of the greatest individual season any wide receiver has ever posted: 96 receptions, 1,681 yards and 16 TDs.
Then came the historic season where he took it even higher. In 2012, a star-crossed season for the Lions, Johnson obliterated the record book with his 122 receptions and 1,964 receiving yards. The yardage remains the NFL record, as does his 16.1 yards per touch, and the receptions are still in the top 10 for a single season.
Johnson kept it rolling. The 329-yard outing against Dallas in 2013, followed up one week later by a two-TD performance in a two-point win over the rival Bears. The Week 1 annihilation of the Giants in 2014 where Johnson caught seven passes for 164 yards and two TDs in a blowout win. There was a fantastic game against Miami later that year where Johnson returned from a three-week absence and lit up the Dolphins in another tight Lions win.
His last game in a Lions uniform was also a memorable one. Johnson smoked the Bears for 10 catches, 137 yards and a touchdown in the 2015 season finale.
Through all the injuries, the gnarled fingers and the lack of team success, Johnson always conducted himself with the same grace he showed on the field. It ended too quickly and too awkwardly, but it doesn’t diminish just how dominant Johnson was in his nine seasons in Detroit.
Thank you for the greatness, the memories and the records, Calvin!
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