It is not all of the time that we think of five feet nine inches as big. Well, I suppose when phrased like that it could be record setting, depending on the application. Ty Johnson, all 5’9″ and 210 pounds of him is big. Come to think of it, stout would probably be more accurate. Regardless, when watching him on film, his game play feels a lot bigger than a typical running back of the same proportions. I can’t explain it much better than that, but his size in pads on the field feels a lot bigger to me than what it would represent on paper. Maybe it’s because of the reckless abandon he runs with. Maybe it’s because his broad shoulders look like a tank coming at you. Whatever it is, upon taking a second look at Maryland, I could not believe this guy never stood out to me more. Life can be funny like that. Sometimes we miss the obvious. And in the case of Ty Johnson, this may indeed hold true. There is a lot you will find on Johnson, and I’m not here to rehash it all, but rather summarize for you, and try to put a bow on it. This isn’t a Draft Profile I normally do, but rather a recommendation for your Fantasy Football rosters, more specifically, your Week 3 Waiver Wire claims. If you don’t want to keep reading, the short version is I definitely think Johnson is a must add to all rosters right now. Is this to say he will win any of your upcoming weeks, or even be a startable option? No. Not entirely. But he does have the potential to be a league winner, which holds more value, and he is a dynasty stash that needs some more recognition.

Ty Johnson was a high school phenom in the state of Maryland, finishing his career at Fort Hill as the number one ranked Running Back in the land of blue crabs. Scout had him as the RB1 in Maryland, but he was a standout on Defense and Special Teams as well, and led his team to undefeated seasons in his junior and senior years. None of that was enough to garner major attention or offers from other programs, so he stayed local, and became a Terrapin. His career there was rather odd though, as when you look at the composite, the 4,196 all purpose yards are rather impressive. However, it still wasn’t enough to garner much national attention, nor a Senior Bowl invite, Combine invitation, or any favorable scouting reports I could find. One number truly stood out to me in that college profile, and that was the career 7.6 yards per carry he accomplished. Surely, that has to be a small sample size, you would assume. I mean even Todd Gurley, who everyone agrees had an outstanding college career running behind a tremendous Georgia line, even he only finished at 6.4 ypc in his college career. What about Derrick Henry, who amassed over 2,000 yards on his way to a Heisman? Nope. He finished even less at an even 6.0 ypc. So that 7.6 number for Johnson seems even more impressive. Especially when you think about how bad the Maryland teams were during the bulk of his four years there. He only had one 1,000 yard season as a Terp, but did so on just 110 carries. What?! Yes, he averaged a whopping 9.1 ypc as a sophomore! You’d think a player putting up those gaudy numbers would generate more buzz. Especially when his teammate D.J. Moore was getting tons of looks the year before. But nope, not Ty Johnson. And I will admit I missed this as well. His teammates didn’t. They raved about his freakish athleticism. His superman like speed, or his bench pressing prowess. There are rumors floating around of him running a 40 yard dash in the mid 4.2’s, and putting up over 27 reps of 225 pounds on the bench. I haven’t been able to find an “official” 40 time for him, but judge for yourself from his Pro Day. The kid can move.