| Andrew Perna. 15th March, 2008 - 4:19 pm
 After spending five seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, wide receiver Bryant Johnson has flown further west to the San Francisco 49ers.
Johnson, who has spent his career playing behind Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin in the desert, signed a one-year deal with the 49ers on Friday worth roughly $2 million.
As the third option in Arizona, Johnson was rarely a featured option in the Cardinals’ offense. However, when given the opportunity to shine, with Boldin and Fitzgerald both having spent moderate amounts of time on the training table in recent years, Bryant has produced efficiently.
A first-round pick out of Penn State in 2003, Johnson has been almost dead-on with his consistency while wearing red-and-white. The variance between his lowest and highest reception totals is a mere fourteen (he caught just 35 balls in his rookie year but set a career-high with 49 during his sophomore campaign).
Bryant has averaged more than a first down per reception throughout his tenure in the NFL, including a staggering 18.5 yards per catch average in 2006, when he notched a career-high 740 yards on just 40 catches.
The 49ers grabbed themselves the best receiver left on the market, with a majority of the big names having signed deals within the first few days of free agency. Bryant has shown throughout his career that he can remain relatively healthy – something that will be imperative for a San Francisco team that has a recent history of injury issues.
He visited with the Bills as well, but ultimately opted to stay in the NFC with the 49ers. Buffalo needs a receiver to take some of the heat off Lee Evans, but in comparison, Johnson might have considered San Fran as a much more desirable place to call home than snowy northern New York.
The 49ers have a host of receivers on their roster, including Arnaz Battle, Ashley Lelie, and Isaac Bruce, but Johnson shouldn’t have a problem separating himself from the competition in training camp. Just hours after agreeing to terms with Johnson, San Francisco cut Darrell Jackson, Johnson’s stiffest competition for the role of top dog.
At this point in his career Bruce is a step behind Johnson, as are Battle and Lelie. With the dismissal of Jackson, the path has been cleared for Bryant to be an undisputed every-down receiver for the first time in his career.
In terms of production, Johnson might have benefited from Jackson’s presence on the other side of the field, but it’s clear that San Francisco considers him to be worthy of garnering all the defensive attention himself. He has yet to play a full season as a top-flight option, but the 49ers were right in rolling the dice on him.
San Francisco was dead last in the NFL in passing last season so any help in the wide receiver department should be considered extremely beneficial. Johnson isn’t going to lead the NFL in receiving, but he will certainly fortify the 49ers’ offensive attack. With that said, it’ll be interesting to see what he does given the opportunity to catch 60-80 passes for the first time in his career.
Grade for the 49ers: B+
The 49ers didn’t break the bank to sign Johnson, which makes this deal a very good one. It seems plausible that he agreed to a one-year deal in order to prove his mettle as a serious air threat, leaving him the option to bolt for even more cash next March if he impresses in San Francisco. That’s a great move by Johnson and his camp.
Grade for the Cardinals: B-
With Fitzgerald and Boldin, there was no room for Johnson in Arizona. They might be in trouble if they opt to ship Boldin out of town, but I’d hope that Cardinals’ management would have thought of that before allowing Johnson to sign elsewhere.
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM.com. Please feel free to contact him via e-mail (Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com) with comments or questions. |
