Josh Johnson’s NFL brain trust strengthens Denver Broncos QB room
With Russell Wilson at the helm, his first mate in the QB room is a veteran who’s seen nearly every system in the NFL. Josh Johnson is the ultimate QB2
First off, what a relief to be writing about the positive state of the Denver Broncos QB depth chart. No QB battle, no looming debates on the direction of the franchise, we’re all just ready to ride.
After securing our franchise quarterback in Russell Wilson and ending the dreaded ESPN carousel graphic, George Paton quickly nabbed up a QB in longtime journeyman Josh Johnson.
The headline was that Johnson is on his 14th NFL team, 17th if we’re counting the UFL, AAF, and XFL. He has stuck around due in part to the tools he brings to the table: plus athleticism, a good, accurate arm with a zippy release allow him to function in a variety of systems, and that’s the kicker here.
More than just a body at QB2, Josh Johnson has worked with every major coaching tree in the modern NFL. Did you know his college coach at San Diego was Jim Harbaugh? Yeah, they went 11-1 and won their conference championship in back-to-back years, and when Harbaugh left Johnson won another chip for good measure. He threw 43 touchdowns and just one interception his final year with the Toreros.
In no particular order, he went on to work with both Harbaugh brothers in the NFL, both Grudens, Raheem Morris, Marvin Lewis, Rex Ryan, Mike LaFleur, Chuck Pagano, Matt Patricia, Greg Olson, Marc Trestman, Norm Chow, and Kyle Shanahan, just to name a few.
He’s seen the Belichick tree twice, the Shanahans’ time and again, dipped into the Gruden, Harbaugh, Ryan, and Lewis systems, and even Andy Reid via Pat Shurmur in Cleveland. Suffice to say he’s seen it all, and this overwhelming wealth of football knowledge is a huge asset to this QB room.
It also explains why he’s been able to stay afloat when thrown into game action with little practice reps or time to pick up a new playbook.
With him in the study room and on the sideline, Russell Wilson has the ultimate sounding board to help situate the offense. An offensive-minded head coach who wants to use his talents doesn’t hurt either. It really helps a ton, sarcasm aside.
Josh Johnson could perhaps be one of the best supporting QB2’s the team could find for Russ, and if he does end up needing to see the field we know he’s capable of trotting out there and holding it down. If he’s been able to put up respectable performances on brand new teams in-season, he’ll do even better with a full offseason to get comfortable. This could be one of the best QB rooms this franchise has ever seen.
Elway had Kubiak, then Bubby Brister. Peyton had his understudies in Osweiler, Dysert and Siemian. Now future Hall of Famer Russell Wilson has an incredibly smart and wholly capable QB2, paired with Brett Rypien, whose football IQ has kept him around as a favored QB3 for four years now. (He’s also the only passer with a winning record in Denver since Trevor Siemian).
We all know that Russell Wilson could walk into any quarterback room in the league and elevate it to a top echelon unit. He’s an elite deep ball, touch passer, in the pocket, out of the pocket, on the run, fantastic quarterback all around.
But now he’s got a great supporting cast behind him on the depth chart, not to mention all of the weapons he has, and the fact that he’ll be set loose in an offense catered to his strengths for the first time in his career. Can’t wait to see Denver get back in the saddle.