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Charles Johnson, WR, Grand Valley St.

With their seventh round pick (216th overall) in the 2013 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers select Charles Johnson, a WR from Grand Valley St.

PLAYER DETAILS: 
Charles Johnson
WR
Grand Valley St.
6’2″/215 lbs

CAREER NOTES:

(from NFLDraftScout.com)

Johnson does have a red flag, having bounced around between different schools. He initially went to Eastern Kentucky, where he was suspended. He then attended Antelope Valley Community College (Calif.) in 2008, took a season off in 2009, and was at Grand Valley State starting in 2010. On the basis of his strong pro-day workout, Johnson could be selected as high as the fifth round in the 2013 NFL Draft.

(from Grand Valley St. sports profile)

2011: D2Football.com Honorable Mention All-American…Don Hansen’s Super Region 3 third-team…First-Team All-GLIAC…GVSU Offensive Skill Player of the Year…Caught 56 passes for 1,030 yards and 15 TDs…1,030 yards ranks fifth all-time for a single-season at GVSU, while his 15 TD catches is fourth…His 93.6 yards per game receiving was third in the GLIAC and 17th nationally…Ranked 10th in the GLIAC in receptions per game (5.09)…Averaged 18.4 yards per catch…Caught a TD pass in 9-of-11 games…Broke the 100-yard receiving mark five times…Caught six passes for 161 yards and one TD at Hillsdale (9/10), including a long TD reception of 71 yards…Hauled in eight passes for 158 yards and two TDs at Northern Michigan (10/8)…Recorded six receptions for 144 yards and two TDs vs. Ferris State (10/22)…Pulled down five receptions for 103 yards and three TDs at Northwood (11/5).
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A couple weeks ago, I presented some data in regard to some of the 3-4 defensive front prospects that the Green Bay Packers could be looking at in the upcoming 2013 NFL Draft. We calculated their “production ratios” based on big plays during their college years. This time around, we’re going to take some numbers from the NFL Combine to see how explosive some of these players are.

Taking another page from Pat Kirwan’s book, “Take Your Eye Off the Ball,” we’re going to take some of the combine measurable and plug them into a formula that will help to show how explosive these players are.

“On the snap of the ball,” writes Kirwan, “the front seven and the offensive line are going to engage physically. It’s a series of adjacent bar fights, and we need to be able to project who has the athleticism to win these all-important battles in the trenches. . . . A prospect with an Explosion Number of 70 or higher has my attention.”

So how do we calculate this number? Here’s the formula:

BENCH PRESS (reps) + VERTICAL LEAP (in.) + STANDING BROAD JUMP (ft.) = EXPLOSION NUMBER

The bench press, vertical jump, and broad jump are three workouts at the combine that specifically test a player’s raw strength, power, and explosiveness. They comprise the core qualities that a defensive lineman needs to do his job. Other workouts like the 40-yard dash and three-cone drill don’t really factor into this equation, because they relate much less to these trench battles.  Read more... (699 words + 2 images, estimated 2:48 mins reading time)

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I have a confession to make: I’m completely clueless when it comes to NFL draft prospects. Okay, well maybe not clueless, but I don’t follow college football, so it’s hard to really know much about these guys moving around the draft boards. Once a guy gets drafted by the Green Bay Packers, then I take the time to read up on his scouting report and check out the highlight reels.

That means you won’t be getting a lot from me when it comes to evaluating players. However, as we get closer to the 2013 NFL Draft, I’m going to post some statistics articles that relate to the current rookie prospects. The nice thing about statistics is that I don’t really have to be that intimate with the players’ individual skills and deficiencies. I can take some of their important numbers, crunch them together, and make something useful out of them.

Of course, this is where I make my disclaimer that statistics don’t tell the whole story. They’re a useful tool when evaluating performance, but they’re just one item in the toolbox. Just like the “measurables” from the NFL Combine and pro days, statistics need to be combined with the rest of the puzzle to make the complete picture. (Okay, maybe that was one too many analogies in a single paragraph.)  Read more... (793 words + 2 images, estimated 3:10 mins reading time)

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One of the hardest things for the average fan to comprehend is how NFL contracts work and how they apply to a team’s salary cap. There are many complicated elements, rules, and exceptions that can be hard to sort out. In this series, my goal is to help you better understand how this whole system works, plus what it means to the Green Bay Packers’ current salary cap and contract concerns.

Before reading, make sure to check out the previous article(s) in the series:

• Part 1: An Introduction to the Basics
• Part 2: A.J. Hawk and Contract Restructuring
• Part 3: Jermichael Finley and the Two-Year Deal
• Part 4: Clay Matthews and Incentives
• Part 5: B.J. Raji and the Escalator

Our sixth and final article focuses on Aaron Rodgers and the “big contract.” Ted Thompson has been preparing for this moment for a long time now, and we’re going to attempt to scratch through the surface of this major negotiation.

Across this series, we’ve talked about a lot of things concerning NFL player contracts and the salary cap. Now is when the rubber meets the road, though, and we try to put this knowledge to use. I’m also going to introduce a few new things that will keep it interesting, such as general cap economics and the concept of “option bonuses.” Fair warning: there is going to be a lot to digest here.  Read more... (1915 words + 5 images, estimated 7:40 mins reading time)

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One of the hardest things for the average fan to comprehend is how NFL contracts work and how they apply to a team’s salary cap. There are many complicated elements, rules, and exceptions that can be hard to sort out. In this series, my goal is to help you better understand how this whole system works, plus what it means to the Green Bay Packers’ current salary cap and contract concerns.

Before reading, make sure to check out the previous article(s) in the series:

• Part 1: An Introduction to the Basics
• Part 2: A.J. Hawk and Contract Restructuring
• Part 3: Jermichael Finley and the Two-Year Deal
• Part 4: Clay Matthews and Incentives

Our fifth article focuses on B.J. Raji and the use of “escalators” in contract negotiations. Yesterday we detailed how “incentives” work, and there are some similarities between those and escalators. However, there is a major difference that gives teams a lot of financial power when it comes to future roster decisions.

As should be common knowledge, B.J. Raji was drafted in the same year as Clay Matthews (2009), though Raji was a higher first-round pick. If you compare his contract to Matthews’ from yesterday, you’ll notice some obvious differences outside of the generally larger dollar amounts. The difference I want to note today is how Raji’s contract is boosted with escalators, while Matthews is boosted with incentives. Take a look:

   Read more... (741 words + 2 images, estimated 2:58 mins reading time)

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One of the hardest things for the average fan to comprehend is how NFL contracts work and how they apply to a team’s salary cap. There are many complicated elements, rules, and exceptions that can be hard to sort out. In this series, my goal is to help you better understand how this whole system works, plus what it means to the Green Bay Packers’ current salary cap and contract concerns.

Before reading, make sure to check out the previous article(s) in the series:

• Part 1: An Introduction to the Basics
• Part 2: A.J. Hawk and Contract Restructuring
• Part 3: Jermichael Finley and the Two-Year Deal

Our fourth article focuses on incentives, and although we’re going to use Clay Matthews’ contract as an example, the discussion will be oriented in a more general sense. This is something most people should have a simple understanding of, but there are some details on how these incentives are paid out and applied to the salary cap that might be new knowledge.

When Clay Matthews was drafted by the Packers in 2009, the new CBA and its “rookie salary scale” were not in existence. This allowed agents to negotiate larger contracts, especially for the top draft picks. In order to find some middle ground, teams would work in “incentive” pay to ensure they were getting their money’s worth. Even the top picks are a risk, so teams want to avoid being financially handcuffed to “busts.”  Read more... (836 words + 5 images, estimated 3:21 mins reading time)

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