Nothing annoys me more in the world of ‘sports takes’ than someone who rides the fence, but when faced with the question of can Ty Johnson fill the Theo Riddick role for the Detroit Lions? My answer is yes … and no, at least not how Theo did it. I sin, too, I know! But let me explain.
Only Theo Riddick is going to do what Theo Riddick does. He has a unique style and skill set for a running back, and the Lions tried to use him to his strengths. So while Ty Johnson isn’t going to look like Theo Riddick on the field, that doesn’t mean Ty Johnson and his more standard running style can’t be as productive or more in the same role the Detroit Lions used Theo Riddick.
Theo Riddick spent his first six seasons in the NFL in Detroit where he had 285 receptions on 369 targets in 84 games played. That’s an average of 3.4 receptions on 4.4 targets per game, all primarily in the third-down role in the Jim Bob Cooter offense.
But this is a new offensive philosophy under Darrell Bevell, one that tends to use its backs with a higher ratio of the more traditional QB handoff to RB idea. For example, in 2017 as play-caller for the Seattle Seahawks (the last season Bevell was an OC), the running backs had a total of 104 receiving targets.
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To compare, in 2018 with Jim Bob Cooter as play-caller the Lions running backs had a total of 140 targets according to ProFootballReference.com. So I’m not expecting the third-down play calling to look the same under Bevell as it has under Cooter. Hopefully, it’s not a given the Lions are passing on anything longer than 3rd and 2.
Though no matter the offensive coordinator, pretty much every NFL offense has a speedy receiving option out of the backfield for third and long situations. In today’s NFL your third-down backs are primarily smaller, faster, pass-catching ‘scat backs’ who can also recognize the blitz and pass protect.
Now Ty Johnson is smaller and faster, but he wasn’t used as a receiving threat all that often in college. In fact, he had only 29 receptions in 43 games in 4 years at Maryland. But if you remember, that was the same story with Kerryon coming out of Auburn last year. It turned out Kerryon handled the transition well with 32 catches on 39 targets in only ten games for an 82.1 Catch% in 2018, for reference Theo Riddick had 82.4 Catch% in the same season.
In OTA’s when Theo Riddick missed practice, Ty took over as the third-down back for the Detroit Lions offense, according to Erik Schlitt of Lions Wire;
"So far this offseason, Johnson has taken snaps behind Kerryon Johnson, C.J. Anderson, Theo Riddick and Zach Zenner, but when Anderson and Riddick missed the final OTA of the summer, Johnson stepped into Riddick’s role as the third-down specialist and receiving back, giving us a glimpse of his quickest path to the roster."
As I would expect third down to be the best opportunity for Ty to get snaps, I also wouldn’t expect he’ll be as confined to the third-down role as much as Theo Riddick was. Ty Johnson averaged 7.7 yards per carry last season, good for third-best in the Big Ten.
He’s been a run-first back his whole life, and when you can run between the tackles and be a receiving threat, that brings an element of unpredictability to your offense, an element that the Riddick and Cooter duo didn’t bring to the table. All of a sudden third & medium’s and third & short’s become a lot harder to defend and play call against.
Darrell Bevell historically runs a zone-blocking running scheme, often with a lead blocker. Enter Nick Bawden finally, and this is a scheme that fits perfectly with Kerryon and Ty Johnson’s skillsets of patience, vision, and speed. So while yes, I would expect Ty Johnson to be the Detroit Lions new ‘scat back’; a role Theo Riddick held down for six years, I’m also expecting Ty Johnson to have a much more versatile role than Theo Riddick did.