Young receiver is impressing coaching staff
Of course, the main focal point of the Las Vegas Raiders’ 2022 wide receiver group is new superstar addition Davante Adams.
But the group clearly extends beyond the great Adams, and one player who has opened eyes early in training camp is speed receiver Tyron Johnson. He has impressed the new coaching staff by flashing and making highlight plays basically every day of camp thus far. First-year Raiders’ head coach Josh McDaniels has raved about Johnson.
“I’m really proud of him. Everybody knows he’s fast, but it takes a lot more than being fast to play in our league at that position, and he’s working extremely hard to be prepared,” McDaniels said. “He’s prepared every day and he knows what his assignments are. He has been able to really connect with the quarterbacks and different things. He works hard in practice. He takes care of his body. He’s now becoming that guy that is dependable from day-to-day and that’s a big word for us.
“There is a lot of trust that goes into the passing game and he’s going to have plenty of opportunities to do his thing, and like I said there is a lot of guys in that room that we’re eager to see and that’s what we were trying to do with every position on our team because if we can build competition what happens is T-Billy [Tyron Johnson] makes Mack [Hollins] better, Mack makes Demarcus [Robinson] better, Demarcus makes Keelan [Cole] better, Keelan makes Isaiah [Zuber] and DJ [Turner] better. That’s what we want to do and so I think that’s happening and will continue to happen hopefully.”
Johnson, 26, is trying to catch on with his sixth franchise since being undrafted out of Oklahoma State in 2019. He was signed to the Raiders’ practice squad by the previous regime last November. He was promoted to the active roster late in the season. He has 22 career catches.
McDaniels’ high praise of Johnson, who is 6-foot-1, 193 pounds, is a strong indication that the staff is going to take a close look at him as training camp goes on and in the preseason action, which begins Aug. 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio.
He is no sure thing to make the 53-man roster, but it’s clear Johnson is a player to keep an eye on in the next several weeks.