Andre Johnson Is the Perfect Reggie Wayne Replacement for the Indianapolis Colts

In stature and in style, Andre Johnson and Reggie Wayne are not similar players.

Just look at the two players standing side by side. Johnson has Wayne by three inches and 30 pounds.

Ever since college, Johnson has been a big, physically gifted receiver who could stretch the field while also beating defenders for contested catches. He's the only receiver in University of Miami history to catch more than 60 receptions while also averaging over 19.8 yards per reception, per Sports-Reference.com. You don't go third overall in the NFL draft without having big-time athletic ability.

By contrast, Reggie Wayne has never dominated physically. He was fast enough, quick enough, strong enough. But Wayne's success came through instincts, discipline and consistency. That's how he ended up with Miami's all-time receptions record, the longest streak of games with a reception and the second-most receiving yards in the university's history, per Sports-Reference.com.

But in a way, the two are uniquely connected, and Johnson makes for the all-too-perfect replacement for Wayne in Indianapolis now.

AJ Mast/Associated Press

The connection started in Miami, where Johnson was mentored by Wayne and future All-Pro Santana Moss. After being redshirted in 1999, Johnson played in 11 games in 2000 as a reserve as Miami went 11-1 and was ranked second in the country. Meanwhile, Wayne caught 10 touchdowns as a senior and then went on to the NFL and was drafted in the 2001 draft at 30th overall.

Johnson came into his own as a sophomore and racked up 89 catches for over 1,700 yards over the next two seasons. With his blend of elite athletic traits, Johnson was drafted third overall by the Houston Texans in 2003, joining the AFC South, where Wayne already resided with Peyton Manning in Indianapolis. 

The two would go on to have stellar careers, Wayne with the benefit of outstanding quarterbacks in Indianapolis and Johnson toiling away as the sole offensive force worth watching in Houston until the team brought in an undrafted running back named Arian Foster in 2009. 

When Wayne was a free agent in 2012, he almost joined Johnson in Houston, according to The Houston Chronicle's Tania Ganguli. In the end, Wayne decided to go back to Indianapolis to join former Miami coach Chuck Pagano. Pagano, who recruited Johnson to Miami back in 1999, then helped recruit Johnson to Indianapolis earlier this month to take Wayne's place in Indianapolis.

The circle is complete.

And while very different players, Johnson and Wayne share enough characteristics on the field for Johnson to have a clear path for success in 2015.

Like Wayne, Johnson has never been a touchdown magnet, never catching double-digit touchdowns in a season. In Indianapolis, that's fine, as the Colts turn toward their tight ends and running backs heavily in the red zone.

Like Wayne, Johnson has been a high-volume receiver with a lower yards-per-reception figure. In fact, both receivers have averaged 13.4 yards per reception for their careers, lower than T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief and the Colts' two tight ends last year.

Like Wayne, Johnson had a down year at age 33, the worst thus far in his career. But that actually may be a good sign for Johnson.

Player	Year	Age	QBs	Catches	Catch Rate	Yards	TDs
Reggie Wayne	2011	33	Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter, Dan Orlovsky	75	56.8%	960	4
Andre Johnson	2014	33	Ryan Fitzpatrick, Case Keenum, Ryan Mallett	85	58.2%	936	3

When united with a quality quarterback again, Wayne had a career year in 2012, catching 106 passes for 1,355 yards.

While the Colts don't need Johnson to have a Pro Bowl season like Wayne did, especially since T.Y. Hilton will still be the No. 1 receiver, it's a reasonable expectation for him to bounce back in better circumstances in 2015.

The manner in which the two seasons occur should be similar, although not the exact same. Like Wayne, Johnson will fill the third-down security-blanket role as a possession receiver, and he will likely run a lot of short and intermediate routes.

Unlike Wayne, Johnson won't be doing his work from the slot. Wayne ran 421 routes from the slot in 2012, according to Pro Football Focus, the second-most slot routes of any receiver in the league. With over 60 percent of his snaps coming in the slot, a big part of Wayne's resurgence was his crafty usage under Bruce Arians.

Johnson isn't a complete stranger to the slot, having run just over 18 percent of his routes from there in 2014 (and no more than 25 percent in the last five years), per Pro Football Focus. But Johnson's primarily an outside receiver who wins with savvy body usage and contested catches rather than quick releases and finding space between linebackers in zones. He's more of an Anquan Boldin than a Reggie Wayne.

That's fine. Boldin put up 83 catches for 1,062 yards and five touchdowns as a 34-year-old in 2014, and that was with an inconsistent Colin Kaepernick throwing him the ball.

As Bleacher Report's Cian Fahey found when he rewound the tape on Johnson's 2014 season, the veteran receiver still has everything.

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Johnson has everything. He is a precise, balanced and quick route-runner. He has the strength, fluidity and ball skills to beat defensive backs at the catch point and adjust to poorly thrown passes with consistency. His physical tools in space aren't what they were five seasons ago, but he is still capable of breaking off big plays when given the opportunity.

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If the Colts can get one good year out of Johnson in 2015, the contract he signed will be well worth it, as the vast majority of the contract can be voided with little penalty in 2016.

One area that's difficult to assess is how Johnson will fit in the locker room.

Wayne was a renowned locker room leader, a veteran who handled the media as well as any Colt and one who played a significant role in the development of T.Y. Hilton. He's never been brash, but Wayne isn't afraid to speak his mind either.

Johnson, on the other hand, is notoriously quiet. When he visited Miami as a teen, the Hurricanes were afraid that he was disinterested in the program because of his silence, according to Brian T. Smith of The Houston Chronicle.

But one man knew Johnson well enough back then to know that was just his nature, Smith says. That man is Chuck Pagano, who had nothing but great things to say about Johnson for Smith's story last fall.

"He's a great player, but he's a better person," Pagano said. "He's an unbelievable human being. … I always talk about the game is always going to fade, but the relationships never do—the relationships are for life. … He's made a huge impact on me and my family."

With Johnson's maturing through his NFL career, taking on more as a veteran presence and joining Pagano in Indianapolis, there's little concern over Johnson's fit in Indianapolis.

No, he might not be as vocal of a leader in Indianapolis as Wayne was. But with Andrew Luck, Hilton, Dwayne Allen and others growing into leadership roles, that's OK. If Johnson can give Donte Moncrief and Duron Carter a few tips, that would be icing on the cake, but the real treat for them will be having a future Hall of Famer to watch as an example.

Will Johnson be Wayne?

No, not the way Wayne was "Reggie" in Indianapolis for 14 years. Probably not even in the way Wayne was a No. 1 receiver in 2012.

But he can be the thunder to T.Y. Hilton's lightning, give Andrew Luck a quality option to move the sticks and bridge the gap to the new generation of Colts receivers.

For $10 million guaranteed, that's not a bad deal.