Keesean Johnson

Johnson recorded 21 catches (on 42 targets) for 187 yards and one touchdown in 10 appearances during the 2019 campaign.

Analysis: A regular in the Cardinals offense through Week 11, Johnson was a healthy scratch for the last six games of the season. The weekly decision was a curious one, considering the team was unable to get consistent production out of its outside receivers. Perhaps a full offseason to get acquainted with Kyler Murray and within coach Kliff Kingsbury's system will help Johnson regain a hold in the WR rotation, but he also will have competition for reps in the form of Trent Sherfield and fellow 2019 draftees Andy Isabella and Hakeem Butler.

Johnson (coach's decision) is listed as inactive for Sunday's game against the Seahawks, Darren Urban of the team's official site reports.

Analysis: Johnson will be a healthy scratch for the fourth consecutive time Sunday, as he has 21 catches for 187 yards and a touchdown this season. With the rookie sidelined again, Andy Isabella and Trent Sherfield are in line to handle the depth receiver snaps for the game.

Johnson (coach's decision) is listed as inactive Sunday against the Browns, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Analysis: Johnson has yet to suit up since the team's Week 12 bye, marking his third consecutive absence and fourth overall this season. If he continues to be a healthy scratch the rest of the way, he'll finish his rookie campaign with a 21-187-1 line on 42 targets.

Johnson (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Steelers, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Analysis: Johnson missed just one contest prior to the Cardinals' Week 12 bye, only to emerge from the break with back-to-back healthy scratches. While the rookie sticks to the sideline, the offense will rely on Andy Isabella, Damiere Byrd and Trent Sherfield as its outside receivers.

Johnson (coach's decision) is listed as inactive Sunday against the Rams, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Analysis: Prior to the Cardinals' Week 12 bye, Johnson was a healthy scratch just once in 11 games, so his inclusion among the inactives this weekend is somewhat surprising. In his absence, Andy Isabella, Trent Sherfield and Damiere Byrd will serve as the team's outside receivers in some order.

Johnson recorded two catches (on two targets) for 14 yards during Sunday's 36-26 loss in San Francisco.

Analysis: Among Cardinals outside receivers, Johnson led them all with a 33 percent share of the offensive plays. And again, he failed to impact the box score much, failing short of 20 receiving yards for the sixth time in 10 appearances this season. Because he has just 8.9 yards per catch, 4.5 yards per target and a 50 percent catch rate in 2019, it's difficult to rely on Johnson from week to week.

Johnson recorded two catches (on five targets) for 14 yards during Sunday's 34-33 win versus the Falcons.

Analysis: While the Cardinals had outside wide receiver Damiere Byrd back in the lineup for the first time since Week 3, Johnson retained an 81 percent share of the offensive snaps Sunday, good for most among the team's receiving corps. Johnson likely will move back to a middling workload when Byrd is 100 percent healthy, but no matter his number of reps he'll have a regular role weekly in an offense that's finding its footing under rookie signal-caller Kyler Murray.

Johnson caught three of seven targets for 22 yards and added one carry for three yards in Sunday's 26-23 win over the Bengals.

Analysis: Getting the start with Christian Kirk (ankle) and Damiere Byrd (hamstring) both inactive, Johnson was second only to Larry Fitzgerald in targets for the Cardinals on the day but wasn't able to do much damage with them -- his longest catch went for only nine yards. The rookie sixth-round pick will continue to feature in Kliff Kingsbury's WR-heavy game plan even after his competition gets healthy, but as yet Johnson hasn't shown he'll be able to contribute much fantasy value even when he lands in an expanded role.

Johnson is the top candidate to receive his first career start Sunday in Cincinnati with Christian Kirk (ankle) and Damiere Byrd (hamstring) unlikely to suit up, Kyle Odegard of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Analysis: If both Kirk and Byrd are among the Cardinals' Week 5 inactives, the remaining outside receivers will be Trent Sherfield, KeeSean Johnson and Andy Isabella, with Larry Fitzgerald and Pharoh Cooper manning the two slot positions. On the season, Johnson has consistently been the fourth wide receiver in the pecking order, earning 55.4 percent of the offensive snaps. With Kirk (93 percent) and Byrd (71.8) sidelined, there's a chance Johnson will become the second-most utilized WR behind Fitzgerald.

Johnson notched two catches (on three targets) for 19 yards during Sunday's 27-10 defeat to the Seahawks.

Analysis: Johnson has settled into the fourth-most utilized wide receiver for the Cardinals. The status quo was maintained Week 4, even with Damiere Byrd (hamstring) out of the lineup. Byrd's absence thrust Trent Sherfield into an increased role, with Sherfield matching Larry Fitzgerald's workload (53 of 63 snaps on offense) behind Christian Kirk (59) and ahead of Johnson (36). Having said that, Kirk suffered a wicked lower leg injury near the end of this contest, so Johnson's standing as his direct backup could result in a corresponding boost in work.

Johnson logged 36 of 75 offensive snaps during Sunday's 38-20 defeat to the Panthers.

Analysis: Johnson again ranked fourth among Cardinals wide receivers in offensive snap share, seeing 48 percent behind Damiere Byrd (96), Larry Fitzgerald (92) and Christian Kirk (92). On this occasion, Johnson was far more utilized than Michael Crabtree, who matched the former's 32 percent Week 2 but fell off to just 17 percent Sunday. Arizona opted to release Crabtree on Monday, so Johnson seems to be locked in as the team's No. 4 WR, which translated to three receptions (on four targets) for 13 yards Week 3.

Johnson made one reception (on two targets) for 31 yards and caught a two-point conversion during Sunday's 23-17 defeat in Baltimore.

Analysis: Johnson was the wide receiver to lose snaps with Michael Crabtree making his Cardinals debut, falling from 76 percent of the offensive plays in the season opener to just 32 percent Week 2. Crabtree got exactly the same share, which was well behind the top trio of Larry Fitzgerald (95), Christian Kirk (93) and Damiere Byrd (93). There's no telling if Crabtree will eventually crack into that group, but Johnson's precipitous drop in work seems to be the biggest initial takeaway from the former's presence.

Johnson hauled in five of his 10 targets for 46 yards during Sunday's 27-27 tie with the Lions.

Analysis: Johnson was the third wide receiver selected by the Cardinals in the 2019 draft, going in the sixth round after second-rounder Andy Isabella and fourth-round pick Hakeem Butler. Granted, Butler is on IR with an avulsion fracture in his hand, but Isabella didn't even log one snap on offense Week 1. Meanwhile, Johnson was heavily utilized, ranking fourth in offensive snaps behind Larry Fitzgerald, Christian Kirk and Damiere Byrd. This game went to overtime, so Johnson may not be targeted double-digit times too often this season, but his share of those targets (18.5 percent) promises fruitful outings more often than not.

Johnson brought in all four of his targets for 19 yards in the Cardinals' 20-7 preseason loss to the Broncos on Thursday.

Analysis: Johnson put a solid stamp on his strong preseason with Thursday's performance, seemingly cementing his case for the No. 4 receiver job to open the campaign. The Fresno State product has outperformed his sixth-round pedigree thus far, and it now remains to be seen if he'll be able to carry that over into the regular season with what figure to be fewer opportunities overall.

Johnson hauled in all seven of his targets for 85 yards in the team's third preseason game against Minnesota.

Analysis: Johnson didn't make his first catch until late in the opening quarter, but still made a number of long catches. Specifically, he was on the receiving end of 19 and 29 yard passes from Kyler Murray, accounting for over half of his total yardage. There's been recent buzz that Johnson could emerge as the team's number three receiver, and this performance will only add to that speculation.

Johnson is making a case for the No. 3 receiver job in Arizona, ESPN.com's Josh Weinfuss reports.

Analysis: Weinfuss believes the sixth-round pick has stepped ahead of second-round selection Andy Isabella, while Scott Bordow of The Athletic simply notes that both rookies should have spots in four-receiver sets. It seems a bit early to make assumptions, with Trent Sherfield, Damiere Byrd and Kevin White (hamstring) also in the mix to earn snaps. Johnson hasn't exactly torn it up through two preseason games, catching five of 10 targets for 52 yards. Sherfield has brought in five of six passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns, and Isabella has one catch for a 59-yard score on four targets. The third week of the preseason should provide a useful hint.

Johnson caught three of six targets for 23 yards during Thursday's 33-26 loss to Oakland.

Analysis: Johnson showed a little bit of rhythm with Kyler Murray early in the game, snagging an eight-yard pass underneath and coming down with a shot downfield that was called back for offensive pass interference. The Cardinals loaded up on young targets in the draft and so there might have been some surprise associated with Johnson -- a sixth rounder -- not being buried on the depth chart. Johnson can hold his own though, leaving Fresno State as the school's career leader with 275 catches and 3,463 yards, and could be a solid depth option in Arizona's open attack.

Johnson brought in two of four targets for 29 yards in the Cardinals' 17-13 preseason win over the Chargers on Thursday.

Analysis: Johnson got his preseason off to a solid start, playing right from the opening series but failing to come up with his only target from Kyler Murray. However, the rookie wideout bounced back to snare two of his last three targets and flash some of the ability that he's displayed in training camp. The Fresno State product is fighting to carve out a No. 3 or No. 4 receiver spot and will look to continue making his case against the Raiders in the Cardinals' second preseason game next Thursday.

Johnson is listed as the backup to starting wide receive Christian Kirk on the Cardinals' first depth chart of training camp, Darren Urban of the team's official site reports.

Analysis: Johnson isn't expected to surpass Kirk in almost every case, but more notably the 2019 sixth-rounder is listed ahead of fourth-round rookie Hakeem Butler. Such a scenario has been made possible by Johnson's performance throughout camp to date. Among his big plays was a 65-yard touchdown on a deep ball from backup QB Brett Hundley during 11-on-11 work at Tuesday's practice, per Kyle Odegard of the team's official site. With Kirk and Larry Fitzgerald locked into starting roles, there are still one or two regular spots up for grabs in the new air raid offense. If Johnson can prove effective as an outside receiver, he could make an impact right away as a pro.

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