Detroit Lions' Calvin Johnson: A Fantasy Football Star?

2008 NFL Fantasy Football

Last year, Calvin Johnson came to the Detroit Lions with sky-high expectations for both fantasy football owners and fans of the team.

Nevermind the fact that the Lions had a bad history of drafting wide receivers (Charles Rogers, Mike Williams) or that Detroit had no running game or that the Lions had no offensive line. Johnson was expected to put up huge fantasy star-type numbers from week one.

Calvin Johnson had his moments in his rookie year with the Lions, but he was a shadow of his former self after suffering a back injury during the season. Johnson tried to play through it but he couldn't put up the big stats that fantasy owners were expecting to see from the former Georgia Tech star and #2 overall pick in the NFL Draft last year.

2008: The Year Calvin Johnson Makes the Fantasy Leap?

This year, however, Johnson is poised to make the leap and live up to his freakish NFL talent and potential. Big stats can be expected for fantasy owners. In terms of pick value there are safer ones to make but Calvin Johnson is too talented not to put up considerable numbers with the Detroit Lions if he stays healthy.

First of all, Calvin Johnson is finally healthy. Fantasy owners won't need to worry about any lingering effects from his back injury.

Secondly, the Lions have a newfound commitment to running the football this year under new offensive coordinator Jim Colletto. Colletto will use a lot of play-action passes and checks to passes off of runs from Jon Kitna will also allow Johnson to get the kind of one-on-one coverage on the outside he didn't see last year.

Also, the threat of the run will actually give defensive backs something to think about that will cause them to hesitate and perhaps look in the backfield and give Johnson the edge in a matchup.

Calvin Johnson Impressive in Lions Camp

Finally, Johnson has been a man amongst boys during the Detroit Lions' training camp and Jon Kitna has also looked great at QB. Lions beat writers have been overheard telling visitors that Johnson has been the most impressive player in camp by far, simply because he dwarfs opposing cornerbacks and is still as fast if not faster than most of them.