Comparing young incoming Lions players to the best players in the N.F.L is nothing new in the Detroit media, whether it’s Joey Blueskies, Teddy Lehman, or Calvin Johnson, Lions fans have been dying for a legitimate star since Barry left. So now it has been a popular topic to compare Lions first round pick Jahvid Best to 2,000 yard rusher and All-World running back Chris Johnson. Now I tend to paint myself as a pessimist, but even I, when scouting Jahvid for my website www.nfldraftgeek.com could not help but notice the similarities in the running style of the two, both are extremely fast players who will shred any defender in the open field, and are among the smartest backs around, so I’m going to take some time to compare the two on a case-by-case basis, and see whether the comparison holds any water, and whether Jahvid Best actually has a chance to be a Chris Johnson type player in the N.F.L.
Speed- The speed comparison is of the 2 is very interesting as both players ran the fastest 40 time of any running back at the N.F.L combine, the only problem with that is, that Chris Johnson ran the second fastest 40 time ever at 4.24, and Jahvid Best came in at a sluggish 4.35, which really puts into perspective just how fast Chris Johnson really is. When it comes to breakaway speed and acceleration, Chris Johnson is the best in the entire N.F.L, but Jahvid Best will immediately come in and be one of the top 5 fastest running backs in the game as well. So while Jahvid Best is not as fast as Chris Johnson, the comparison is a good one, because when you are talking fastest running backs in the N.F.L, both these players name should be on the short list.
Chris Johnson- 10/10
Jahvid Best- 9.5/10
Vision- Vision I think is by far the most underrated characteristic of a running back, you can be the fastest and most athletic running back around, but if you are consistently missing holes from your O-lineman, impatient, and poor at anticipating defenders, then none of it matters. One thing you noticed about both these players coming out of college, is that both were a bit undersized, but both made up for it with their fantastic field vision. Both players have the ability to find holes at the line of scrimmage and immediately explode through them, Chris Johnson is the best at it in the N.F.L, and Jahvid Best did an excellent job at it while at Cal. Also neither is impatient by trying to use their blazing speed to just bounce everything outside, which is a common characteristic of smaller, fast running backs, both players are very patient runners that wait for holes to open up and following their blockers. The final characteristic of vision is anticipating defenders, and this is where Chris Johnson is phenominal, and Jahvid has yet to prove himself. C.J has the innate ability to know where every defender is on the field, where they are going, and when they will be there, which allows him to made precise cuts at the perfect time, and turn the jets on and off when necessary. There is no reason why Jahvid can’t be great at this, but he just hasn’t proven it on a big enough stage yet, so in the meantime, he loses this battle.
Chris Johnson- 10/10
Jahvid Best- 9/10
Breaking Tackles- This is the category where I think Chris Johnson runs away from Jahvid Best (Pun intended). While C.J is not a power running back like Adrian Peterson, he runs strong enough to bust through arm tackles, not get tripped up easily, and occasionally run over a defensive back, to this point, that is not at all the case with Jahvid Best. If Jahvid Best is going to reach his full potential he is going to have to get stronger in his lower body, all too often in college I saw Jahvid getting tripped up by weak arm tackles, avoiding contact, and getting wrapped up by smaller defenders, something you will never see with Chris Johnson. Jahvid needs to be more physical as a runner, now I’m not saying that he needs to start trucking every defender he sees, but it is not acceptable for him to consistently run out of bounds instead of trying to break a tackle, he also can’t be getting tripped up by defenders on the ground while accelerating, he needs to do a better job using his lower body to stable himself and continue on through contact. This may be Jahvid Best’s downfall, if he can’t get stronger, and continues to get slowed up by weak stuff, he will never sniff C.J’s pedestal, but if he can, he will be right there with him.
Chris Johnson- 9/10
Jahvid Best- 7/10
Agility- This is the one category where I think Jahvid Best is the clear-cut winner. Jahvid is just a step behind Reggie Bush when it comes to making defenders look foolish in the open field, his ability to start, stop, change directions, and accelerate at an extraordinary speed is top-notch. When Jahvid encounters a defender in the open field, he just might as well quit, so as not to make himself look any stupider, because Best can corkscrew him into the ground. He is usually always the fastest player on the field, so he straight up run by anybody, but he also can stop on a dime, and then immediately get back to full speed, and zig-zag past his defender. It is really a joy to watch. While Johnson is also great at this, I don’t think he has the natural ability in this aspect that Jahvid Best does. I give this one to Jahvid Best.
Chris Johns0n- 8.5/10
Jahvid Best- 9.5/10
Complete Back- When I say a complete back I am talking about the very important skills of route running, hands, and abilities as a receiver, as well as blitz-pickup, and things like that. Chris Johnson by far is the winner in this category, as he clearly has better hands, is a much better route runner and receiver, and is an every down back, who can pick up the blitz and is not a liability at anything, whereas Jahvid has much room for improvement. Chris Johnson had an unbelievable year as a receiver last year for Tennessee, breaking long screen passes, catching balls in traffic, and the like, racking up a whopping 93 receptions, and 763 yards, while Jahvid has never had more then 250 receiving yards in a season. Part of that is that he was often not on the field for 3rd downs because he is not the best blocker. If he improves in blitz-pickup than he will be on the field all 3 downs, and can be used more on screen plays, and just dumpoffs where he can just get the ball in his hands and work his magic. But all-in-all Chris Johnson is a far more complete back that Jahvid Best.
Chris Johnson- 9.5/10
Jahvid Best- 7/10
So there you have it, the official Jahvid Best vs Chris Johnson comparison. Obviously nobody thinks that Jahvid Best is a better running back than Chris Johnson, but I hope you realize, as I do, that the comparison isn’t too far fetched, and I think is predicated on 2 things. Jahvid’s ability to be a stronger, more physical runner, breaking more tackles, and making improvements in blitz-pickup, which in turn allows him to be on the field for all 3 downs, letting him be used more as a receiver. Maybe I will check back after next season, and we can pick up this discussion again.
Nolan Vasan- www.nfldraftgeek.com
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Best will be equally as good as CJ. Give him time.
Best is 100 times the man Johnson is because Johnson is fucking dumb as a rock and Best is a smart man.