ALLEN PARK -- Jamal Agnew was just a fifth-round back in 2017, and a fifth-round pick out of the University of San Diego at that. Not much was expected of him at all, let alone in Year 1. And then he took the league by storm.

He averaged 15.4 yards per punt return for the Lions that year, still the best season by any returner since 2013. He was the only return man in the league who scored multiple times. And he was named first-team All-Pro for his extraordinary efforts.

But Agnew was dogged by injury in Year 2, playing in just six games. He wasn’t nearly as electric on punt returns, averaging just 4.8 yards, and eventually lost his grip on the kick return job. And now Detroit has juiced up the competition heading into Year 3.

The Lions selected Ty Johnson in the sixth round of last week’s draft, a speedy running back out of Maryland who made some serious hay as a kick returner. He averaged 27.2 yards last season, which was second among all drafted players and 11th overall in the country.

He didn’t return punts the last two years, but averaged 12.3 yards on four attempts as a freshman and sophomore.

“I’ve been (returning kicks) ever since I was little,” Johnson said by phone after Detroit took him 186th overall in last weekend’s draft. "So it just came naturally. Just being able to have that, those extra steps, like, leading, running into the ball. Having a few steps while catching the ball to get the wheels turning, you know? I love that. Just being able to have that whole open field, being able to see it.

"When you’re a running back, you’re only 5 yards behind the line. But at kick returner, you can see the whole field before any of the blocks really happen. So I like that part of it, and it’s a good thing.”

Well he was certainly good at it. Just ask Michigan about that, which was burned for a 98-yard touchdown last season in Ann Arbor. Or Ohio State, for that matter, which was threaded for a 100-yarder in Columbus the season before that.

Johnson clearly has a special gear when he hits the open field. He says he’s never been officially timed in the 40-yard dash, but his agent told him teams clocked him at between 4.3 and 4.4 at his pro day. Agnew, by comparison, ran a 4.34 at his pro day.

“I just want to come in and (contribute),” Johnson said. "If it’s at kick return, that’s fine. If it’s at running back, it’s fine. I just want to come in and be one of the biggest contributors on the team and just play and win.”

After a promising freshman season at Maryland, Johnson broke out offensively as a sophomore. He rushed for 1,004 on just 110 carries. That’s 9.1 a pop, which was second best in the country and a Terrapins record. He was good as a junior, too, averaging 6.4 yards per carry, scoring five touchdowns and housing that kick return against Ohio State.

Johnson weighed whether to declare early for the draft, but elected to return to school. Then he languished through a difficult senior season. There was the death of teammate Jordan McNair in mid-June. Coach DJ Durkin was placed on administrative leave and eventually fired. And Johnson suffered a calf injury that robbed him of his electrifying speed, and lost his starting job to freshman sensation Anthony McFarland.

Johnson still averaged 7.7 yards per carry, the second-best average of his career, but got just 66 carries and finished with 506 yards. And that could have contributed to his fall into the sixth round of the draft.

“In the spur of the moment, I was a little upset,” Johnson said. "But everything happens for a reason, and I’m here now, That’s all that matters. I’m just ready to work. The job’s not done yet, so I’ve just got to come in and do all I can, make the team, make the roster and just play.”

He’s going to have a tough time cracking a Lions running back rotation that is flexing its best depth in a long time. Kerryon Johnson, last year’s second-round pick, was in the running for rookie of the year until Detroit shut him down late with a knee injury. C.J. Anderson was signed in free agency to be his power complement, Zach Zenner was re-signed as a solid backup and special-teams ace, and Theo Riddick also returns as the backfield’s best pass protector and pass-catcher.

That’s four returners at the position, which doesn’t even account for fullback Nick Bawden, who could face new competition of his own after losing his rookie season to injury.

Ty Johnson’s best path to the roster might be by proving himself as a difference maker in the return game, where Detroit finished 26th on punts and 11th on kicks last season and didn’t score any touchdowns.

“I have a lot of characteristics and a great skill set of a great returner and running back,” Johnson said. "At the end of the day I couldn’t tell you (why I fell in the draft). But that’s OK. You know, people that keep doubting me, it just gives me more fuel to my fire to keep going and prove everyone wrong.”