Calvin Johnson: Career retrospective

Calvin Johnson grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta. His parents instilled hard work and education values into Johnson at a young age. At Sandy Creek High School, Johnson became a hometown sensation as a football and baseball star. Johnson was so good at baseball that he received minor league offers in high school. Ultimately, he didn’t sign the contract and stuck with football to play for Georgia Tech. It was the perfect move for a kid who wanted to get a college degree while being close to home. Georgia Tech was a 30-minute drive from his childhood home. Johnson was a top-ten wide receiver in the Class of 2003.

Johnson thrived at Georgia Tech. He helped the Yellow Jackets beat Clemson as a true freshman and eventually became the program’s all-time leader in receiving yards (2,927) and receiving touchdowns (28). His numbers improved during his sophomore year as he became a lethal offensive weapon for the Yellow Jackets. But in his junior year, Johnson turned the volume up.

In 2006, Johnson logged 76 receptions for 1,202 yards and 15 touchdowns. The Yellow Jackets went 9-5 and lost to West Virginia in the Gator Bowl, 38-35. Johnson played his heart out in the loss, finishing the day with nine catches, 186 yards, and two touchdowns. Johnson capped off his college career by winning the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s top receiver. A first-ballot selection into the College Football Hall of Fame, Johnson is an all-time great Yellow Jacket.

When Johnson entered the 2007 NFL Draft, he was considered a generational talent. It’s easy to see why. Standing at 6-foot-5, 237 pounds, Johnson ran a 4.35 40-yard dash. The Detroit Lions selected him with the second overall pick in the draft.

The NFL wasn’t ready for Johnson. The Georgia Tech product lived up to the hype, catching 48 receptions for 756 yards and four touchdowns. The Lions went 7-9 in 2007. Johnson was named to the 2007 PFWA All-Rookie Team for his excellent rookie year.

Johnson didn’t disappoint in his second year in the league. He erupted for 78 receptions, 1,331 yards, and a league-leading 12 touchdowns in 2008. This was the first and only time Johnson led the league in receiving touchdowns.

While Johnson was making a name for himself on the gridiron, the Lions organization struggled to play well. The Lions didn’t win a game in 2008, going 0-16. Regardless of what the scoreboard said, Johnson was the best player on the team. To put the Lions' woes into perspective, Johnson scored 12 of the Lions' 28 touchdowns. He accounted for almost half of the team’s scoring offense.

The Lions cleaned house once their winless season was over. Johnson was kept on the roster for the rebuild. The Lions went 2-14 in 2009. Johnson and Co. won just two games in two NFL seasons.

When the Lions drafted Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford with the first overall pick, Johnson quickly became his go-to target. Stafford was the starting quarterback of the Lions for the bulk of Johnson’s career. They formed quite a dynamic duo. In the 87 games they played together, Johnson lit it up for 521 receptions, 8,315 yards, and 57 touchdowns, per Statmuse.

Johnson had his breakout year in 2010. The star receiver logged 77 receptions for 1,120 yards and 12 touchdowns. Johnson earned his first Pro Bowl nod. In total, Johnson packed his bags and flew to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl on six occasions (2010, ‘11, ‘12, ‘13, ‘14, ‘15). In terms of team success, the Lions went 6-10 and failed to make the playoffs.

Every all-time great football player receives a nickname during their career. Johnson is no different. During practice, a teammate nicknamed him Megatron after the menacing villain in the Transformers franchise. One of the most physically gifted wide receivers of all time, the nickname was perfect. Johnson looked more machine than a man on the field. He was that dominant.

During a 2010 matchup against the NFC North rival Chicago Bears, Calvin Johnson caught what appeared to be the game-winning touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter. The play sent the refs into a frenzy. Upon further review, the catch was ruled an incomplete pass. The botched game-winning catch created a new rule in the NFL rulebook titled “The Calvin Johnson Rule.” It explicitly states that a receiver must maintain possession of the football when catching a touchdown pass in the end zone. See the play for yourself. 

Historically, the refs haven’t done the Lions any favors (more on this later).

In 2011, Johnson torched the NFL for a league-leading 1,681 receiving yards. As a team, the Lions went 10-6, and Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford passed for over 5,000 yards. The Lions entered the Wild Card round as heavy underdogs to the New Orleans Saints, who beat the Lions by a score of 45-28. Johnson grabbed 12 catches for 211 yards and two touchdowns in his playoff debut.

Johnson posted a historic outing in 2012. The star receiver hauled in a league-leading 122 catches, a record-breaking 1,964 yards, and five touchdowns. He broke Jerry Rice’s record for most receiving yards in a single season. He averaged an astounding 122.8 receiving yards per game. This season put him in the conversation of one of the GOAT wide receivers. The Lions went 4-12 and failed to make the playoffs.

After his record-breaking season in 2011, fans voted Johnson onto the Madden 13 cover. It was a great honor for the All-World wide receiver. Johnson was given a 99 overall rating for the game. Anyone who has ever played Madden knows that Megatron is one of the best cheat codes in the game. He's a mainstay on players' Ultimate Team. It's almost never a wrong decision to throw the ball Johnson's way in Madden. Or in real life. 

After a 7-9 finish in 2013, the Lions brass fired head coach Jim Schwartz and replaced him with Jim Caldwell, who had led the Indianapolis Colts to Super Bowl XLIV. Caldwell planned on building a winning culture in the Motor City with Johnson as a major chess piece in the overhaul.

The Detroit Lions were off and running in 2014. They roared to an 11-5 record, their highest win total since 1991. 

Their first playoff game was a Wild Card grudge match against the Dallas Cowboys. The Lions held a 20-17 lead with eight minutes left in the fourth when Dallas Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens received a pass interference call for his coverage of Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew on third down. Moments later, the refs picked up the flag and stated there was no interference on the play. The Lions punted. The Cowboys drove the ball down the field and scored the game-winning touchdown pass. The controversial call ruined the Lions’ playoff run. 

If the ruling of pass interference stood, who knows how far the 2014 Lions could’ve gone.

The following year, Johnson played lights out. However, his best game of the season came against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thanksgiving Day. Johnson hauled in eight catches for 93 yards and three touchdowns on the day. The Lions went on to win 45-14. Since the Lions play on Thanksgiving every year, Johnson was guaranteed one primetime game per year. He was always bound to make something happen and became a great Thanksgiving performer.

Johnson knew he was going to retire after the 2015 season. He kept it a secret from his teammates and the media until the final whistle. When the announcement was made official, it shocked the NFL world. Johnson was 30 years old and in the middle of his prime. His abrupt retirement drew parallels to fellow Lions legend Barry Sanders' retirement. 

Johnson simply lost his love for the game. After all the double-teams, triple-teams, and heavy hits he endured over the years, it felt like the right time to call it quits. Johnson never attempted an NFL comeback.

Johnson became a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021. The honor was well deserved. While he didn’t retire with the best career numbers on the all-time list, what he accomplished in his short career with the Lions is beyond impressive.