STRENGTHS - Johnson has good overall athletic ability, speed and foot quickness to consider for the slot receiver position at the NFL level. If Johnson has a strength in his game, it is clearly his hands and his ability to track, locate and adjust to the ball and make difficult catches with his hands. Johnson displays good initial quickness into and out of his breaks and does a decent job of creating separation in his routes, especially when his path is not interfered with. He is reasonably elusive and can gain yards after the catch through the middle of the defense. As a smaller player he will go across the middle of the defense to make tough catches. He has been a very durable player at SMU. He is a very aggressive and tough player with the ball in his hands and he has been a very productive player during his time in college.
WEAKNESSES - He has below average size with limited growth potential to further develop as an every-down player at the next level. He doesn't have explosive home run speed and won't be a player that makes big plays because of his limited speed. He has had a very productive career but his route running is extremely raw and very flawed. He will only play at the next level out of the slot as he needs a free release because of his poor footwork and lack of physicality. He isn't going to help in realistically any way as a blocker as he doesn't use his hands and looks to just get in the way. There are questions about his durability, and because of his smaller size he will have to make plays in the heart of the defense.
SUMMARY - Johnson is an undersized athlete with little growth potential to further develop for the position at the NFL level. He is a very solid overall athlete with good open field vision and elusiveness in his play. He shows very good initial quickness in his release and initial quickness to gain separation in his routes. Despite his lack of size, he plays with very good tenacity, toughness and aggressiveness, especially with the ball in his hands. He can break arm tackles and shows good run-after-catch ability for the position. However, he needs work to refine his route-running skills, especially his footwork which looks very limited at this time. Johnson has great hands and remarkable ability to find the ball in the air, adjust and make a tough catch with big hands for a smaller player. He has been very productive as a wide receiver in the spread system which SMU employs. He has also contributed as a punt returner at SMU and he can contribute to special teams. Overall, he deserves strong sixth-round draft consideration by a team looking for a developmental slot receiver and punt returner with some better coaching, especially with his footwork when he is running routes.