Marcus Johnson is an intriguing free agent wide receiver

Marcus Johnson isn’t going to make any top free agents list, but the Indianapolis Colts wide receiver will intrigue as a free agent.

On Friday afternoon, NFL reporter Mike Garafolo leaked the news that the Indianapolis Colts were going to allow Marcus Johnson, a young wide receiver, to hit free agency rather than tender him a contract offer. Given the timing and the general anonymity of Johnson to the average fan, the tweet likely slipped through without much thought on the part of most people.

Johnson is certainly not going to be a major addition on the part of any team this offseason, and on a loaded roster like the Kansas City Chiefs, Johnson would certainly have to fight for any roster spot. And while this might seem like an odd time to talk about fringe talents, Johnson is an intriguing talent who could sign on the cheap and serve as a nice new target for a team who could lose significant talent at wide receiver.

Remember this: Demarcus Robinson is going to get the payday he’s looking for as an underutilized option in a loaded offense who comes with championship experience. Meanwhile Sammy Watkins is already retweeting fantasies of joining the Houston Texans. While the Chiefs remain dangerous without those targets, it’s a steep fall on the roster after Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardman, at least in terms of proven experience.

Johnson is a developmental deep threat unearthed by similarly minded appreciators. He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles (led by former Chiefs assistant Doug Pederson) in 2017 and was traded in the Michael Bennett deal to the Seattle Seahawks. The Indianapolis Colts (whose GM is former Chiefs exec Chris Ballard) then traded for him via a small player-for-player swap one year later.

Speaking of that deep threat, Johnson ran the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds at the University of Texas pro day and he’s showcased that extra gear on the pro level with the Colts this past year. With the Colts in need of receivers in an injury-plagued season, Johnson climbed the depth chart and put up 17 catches for 277 yards and 2 touchdowns (and a solid 16.3 yards/catch). Johnson also comes with return experience.

In case you think Johnson is all speed and nothing more (which would really make him no different than several other pro hopefuls), then watch the instincts and hands on a play like this. He gets his head turned in just enough time to allow instincts to take over and his body twists to grab the ball. The hands quickly do the work to secure it perfectly for an incredible catch:

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1206746060086857729

Johnson is not going to command any major money and should be available for a league-minimum deal. The raw skills are there and he’s grown with experience. It would be exciting to see how much he would grow learning from Greg Lewis in Andy Reid‘s system to help polish his route running and expand his repertoire.