Pro Football Focus put together an All-Decade team and former Detroit Lions all-world wide receiver Calvin Johnson landed 16th on their list.
Ranked at 16 may feel a bit too low but there are a few factors that need to be considered. PFF noted that “this list isn’t an evaluation of talent, but rather of production, efficiency and performance over a specific time period — in this case, the entire decade.”
While that alone wouldn’t negatively impact Johnson, it’s also worth noting that he only played in six of the 10 seasons and “playing time was factored into the decisions, too; somebody who played twice as much within the decade was given some level of preference over players who played only a few seasons in the 2010s.”
Here’s PFF’s reasoning for Johnson’s ranking:
Calvin Johnson walked away from the game at the height of his powers, and only that held him back from the very top of this list. He left on the back of five straight seasons with a PFF grade of 88.0 or higher, and over the six seasons he played within the decade, he never had a grade lower than 83.0. He scored a touchdown on almost 7% of targets, the third-highest rate of any receiver with 800 or more targets over the decade. Calvin Johnson was one of the most physically imposing receivers ever to play the game and was virtually unstoppable at his best. Even though he played just 60% of the decade, he was one of the best 20 players to feature in it.
On behalf of Lions Wire, congratulations to Johnson on the recognition.
