Kerryon Johnson makes PFF’s ‘Preseason Team of the Week’

As if the hype for Kerryon Johnson wasn’t already at max capacity, Pro Football Focus threw a can of kerosene on the fire this weekend. The Detroit Lions rookie running back made PFF’s “Preseason Week 1 NFL Team of the Week.”

Johnson, who earned PFF’s highest grade (80.7) among running backs during the first week of the preseason, finished the day with 34 rushing yards and 33 receiving yards. While those stats are a bit modest, it wasn’t how many yards he got, but how he got them.

Johnson proved elusive for much of the night, and although it got called back, his 57-yard run displayed everything we’ve been looking for in a Lions running back: excellent vision, incredible burst, and the ability to break tackles and turn modest gains into big chunks of yardage.

The PFF staff agrees, crediting Johnson with three broken tackles, and more than half of his total yards from scrimmage (37) came after contract.

To add to the optimism, PFF gave the Lions’ first round pick Frank Ragnow an overall grade of 72.3, which apparently fell “just outside of the top five.”

So while the overall game may have looked a little ugly for the Lions, the future looks bright, and this Bob Quinn guy may actually know what he’s doing with this general manager thing.