I was curious how Johnson's first seven games compared to Burden's first seven when he was a freshman last season, so I looked up the numbers:
Burden had over 2.5 times as many receptions and was highly effective in the run game, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He also had 24 more total touches and one more touchdown. Additionally, he had 149 yards and one touchdown on punt returns, which is not reflected in the table above.
Johnson leads in all receiving categories except for receptions. He also leads in total yards despite being a non-factor in the run game. It's also important to note that he didn't record any stats in the first two games in which he played, so all of his numbers are actually just from the last five games.
I'm not at all trying to argue that Johnson is or will be better than Burden, that would be absurd. However, I do think these numbers exhibit just how impressive of a start to his career he's had. Burden was an all-world recruit that could've gone to any school he wanted. Johnson had six total power five offers and has better numbers in several categories than Burden did at this point last year. The kid has the potential to be a star.
| PLAYER | REC | REC YDS | REC AVG | REC TD | CAR | RUSH YDS | RUSH AVG | RUSH TD | TOTAL TOUCHES | TOTAL YDS | TOTAL AVG | TOTAL TD |
| Burden | 24 | 185 | 7.71 | 2 | 10 | 60 | 6 | 2 | 34 | 245 | 6.85 | 4 |
| Johnson | 9 | 268 | 29.78 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 271 | 16.39 | 3 |
Burden had over 2.5 times as many receptions and was highly effective in the run game, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He also had 24 more total touches and one more touchdown. Additionally, he had 149 yards and one touchdown on punt returns, which is not reflected in the table above.
Johnson leads in all receiving categories except for receptions. He also leads in total yards despite being a non-factor in the run game. It's also important to note that he didn't record any stats in the first two games in which he played, so all of his numbers are actually just from the last five games.
I'm not at all trying to argue that Johnson is or will be better than Burden, that would be absurd. However, I do think these numbers exhibit just how impressive of a start to his career he's had. Burden was an all-world recruit that could've gone to any school he wanted. Johnson had six total power five offers and has better numbers in several categories than Burden did at this point last year. The kid has the potential to be a star.
