Undrafted rookie Kameron Johnson has consistently impressed throughout offseason workouts, and he did so again on Thursday during the Buccaneers' joint practice with the Jaguars. Although he was wearing a no-contact jersey in his re-acclimation to full work from a rib injury, Johnson got a significant workout before the snap with pre-snap movement. The speedster adds another dimension to Liam Coen's reimagined offense in Tampa Bay.
"Kam Johnson's a stud," said quarterback Baker Mayfield. "I didn't even know where Barton College was until a few weeks ago, but whatever they fed him, it worked. The kid, he's a polished receiver. He doesn't say much, locks in and just does everything the right way. So, for us, it's a kid that listens, but if you bring the physical aspect of it, he's extremely smooth in his routes and explosive. I think he can do a lot of things for us. He's another good guy in our room who's going to push everybody else to continue to raise that standard in the receiver room."
As Mayfield notes, Johnson played at Barton College, a Division II program located in Wilson, North Carolina, and was a part of the school's first football team when the program relaunched in 2020. The school played their first four games in the spring 2021 due to COVID-19. Now, after 51 catches for 875 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023, Johnson is the first Barton player to sign with an NFL team.
Following the injury, Johnson is beginning to get his mobility back to full strength so he can torque his body. Johnson is adept at stretching defenses horizontally through jet sweeps and end-arounds, quickly getting to the perimeter and accelerating. He ran the 40 in 4.46 seconds and posted a 37-inch vertical jump. In a small sample size in Tampa Bay, Johnson has made an outstanding debut in the Bay.
"Obviously, speed kills and you can't really coach speed, but I feel like you do not know what to expect from me," noted Johnson. "I can go deep; I can run decent routes, and you never know what I will bring. I can push the field vertical but also, just lateral. I think I can out-run anybody if I get the chance. I like the sell route, I feel like I can just push the field vertical and then all of a sudden, I can speed cut them and after that speed cut, I don't think anybody really beats me out of my breaks. Of course, the post too, I like to score."
In Coen's offense, there is an emphasis on creating space and advantageous matchups. Much like the scheme's detail-oriented approach, Johnson lives by the same mantra in regard to his craft. Following the joint practice with the Jaguars, Johnson caught 50-plus balls on the JUGS machine to catapult himself forward. The gadget-plus player has certainly turned the heads of the Bucs' coaching staff during offseason workouts and has bolstered the club's aerial and ground attack.
