WR KeeSean Johnson makes solid strides
KeeSean Johnson’s dad wanted to let him know he was proud, but he didn’t want his son to get complacent.
“My dad kind of told me about it a little bit, but he was like, ‘Don’t let this get to you. You know what you’re here for, you know what you want to do,’ ” Johnson said.
Sean Johnson had heard General Manager Steve Keim raving about his son, the Cardinals rookie wide receiver, on NFL Network during a broadcast from State Farm Stadium during the first Saturday of camp.
“Early on, KeeSean Johnson has looked fantastic,” Keim said. “He’s a guy that I think could break out as a rookie. He’s a really natural route runner. To me, one of the most natural route runners in the draft. To be able to get him later, in Day 3, was a good get.”
The late snag was good for the franchise, and something Johnson will certainly remember. He’s been asked a few times since about his jersey number, 19, a nod to the 19 wide receivers taken in the draft before him. Since making it to the NFL, Johnson could be trending toward proving those other teams wrong.
The Cardinals released their first unofficial depth chart – “It’s unofficial,” head coach Kliff Kingsbury reiterated – this week. Johnson is listed as a secondstring wide receiver, but he’s been mixing in reps with the first team, as well.
“I kind of just got thrown in there,” he said Tuesday. “(I) don’t really look into it too much, because we’ve still got a long way to go in camp, a lot of things to show as a unit, and I’m just going to push every day.”
If the sixth-round pick out of Fresno State keeps it up, he could quickly become a household name in Arizona. The wide-receiver competition is an ongoing narrative of training camp, and Johnson has made early strides. He’s connected well with rookie quarterback Kyler Murray.
He finds his route-running ability to be a strength that differentiates him, and the Cardinals coaching staff has echoed that.
“He’s a smooth route runner. We knew that coming out,” Kingsbury said last week. “We thought he was one of the top two pure route runners of the draft, and it shows. He can get in and out of breaks, great hands, competitive catches, as you’ve seen throughout the first couple of days.
“So he’s got to keep working, gotta get stronger, gotta continue to hone his craft, but he’s a football player, and he’s off to a solid start.”
It’s more praise than Johnson will give himself. At this point in training camp, he’s fairly reserved, spending his time soaking up the playbook, learning what he can from veterans and focusing on areas of improvement, instead of replaying Keim’s compliments. He knows he’s had some dazzling catches already. Last Tuesday, he ended the day with a 60-plus-yard touchdown reception from backup Brett Hundley. On Saturday, he started the Red and White Practice catching Murray’s first throw of the scrimmage.
So he’ll admit those were good, but really, Johnson’s already thinking about the ones to come.
“Yeah, but I feel like there’s still more plays out there that can be made, for me and as a unit,” he said. “So I’m just going to come out every day and compete with our team.”
Up next: The Cardinals’ next trainingcamp session is Monday at State Farm Stadium from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Practices are free to the public. Gates open 30 minutes prior to the start of practice. Practice times are subject to change.