Calvin Johnson was one of the most imposing and talented players ever to play the wide receiver position in the NFL. At the goal line, teams often had two cornerbacks covering him like a gunner on a punt. Unprecedented stuff.
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Unfortunately, Johnson never played for many good teams during some of the darkest years in Detroit Lions history. And that’s saying something. He played in only two playoff games (one of which was a 211-yard masterclass in a losing effort) and dealt with a real carousel of QBs before Matthew Stafford arrived in 2009.
In 2008, the lowest point the Lions have seen as a franchise, one of the quarterbacks they tried was Dan Orlovsky. Of course, the former QB-turned-pundit has plenty of Calvin Johnson stories.
While appearing on the Pardon My Take podcast, Orlovsky was asked if he sometimes simply just threw the ball in the general vicinity of Johnson and hoped for the best. Orlovsky said, “100 percent.”
“The most physically gifted athlete I’ve probably ever been around. He’s 6’5″, as am I. I just remember walking into the shower one time and, mirrors into the bathroom in our facility, and Calvin and I are walking into the shower, couple things don’t look like the other, and Calvin’s hips were like to my chest. He was this long, lean, ridiculous athlete. He had a great work ethic,” he said.
Orlovsky was with the Lions from 2005-2008, while Johnson arrived in the Motor City in 2007. So the pair played two seasons together, including the notorious 2008 season. During that campaign, Orlovsky got the most run of his career, starting seven games. However, he and every other Lions QB were unable to get a win, as they finished 0-16.
Even still, Johnson went about his business, recording 78 receptions for 1,331 yards and a league-leading 12 TDs. It was the first 1,000-yard season of his career, and he got a lot of it on jump balls. The coaching staff believed Johnson could win any jump ball scenario. Orlovsky was skeptical at first.
Prior to a late-season game against the Colts (which they lost 31-21), the Lions set up an option route for Johnson. If he saw Cover 3 (soft), he stopped for a five-yard hitch. If he saw Cover 2, he goes deep, and Orlovsky was instructed to simply toss it up to him in double coverage. Orlovsky pushed back, but he quickly learned that “Screw it, Calvin’s down there somewhere,” was the best approach.
“My initial reaction is like, you’re coaching me to throw into double coverage, can we do something else?… They’re like, ‘No, if we get Cover 2, Calvin just run down the field, and Dan just throw it high.’ … So, drop back [against the Colts], see Cover 2 and I’m like ‘fudge.’ Throw it over two dude’s heads, just launch the ball like 30 yards downfield, he plucks it out of the air, and I just look to the sideline and say, ‘I got it.'”
Calvin Johnson was a cheat code @danorlovsky7 @PardonMyTake pic.twitter.com/vgQ1XTRGxn
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 12, 2025
It’s just one of many stories that show the true athletic brilliance Calvin Johnson possessed. In just nine seasons, he amassed 731 receptions for 11,619 yards and 83 TDs. In 2012, his 1,964 yards set a single-season receiving record. Detroit went 4-12 that year.
Johnson retired at just 30 years old because the constant losing he experienced with Detroit drained the fun and love he had for the game. He’s a Hall of Famer, but still… what could have been? It was eerily similar to the shortened career of another Lions great, running back Barry Sanders.
Two of the greatest athletes the league has ever seen, and their careers were cut short not because of injury, but because of losing. The Detroit Lions owe the NFL world a debt for that. And it seems they’re finally starting to pay it back with arguably the most exciting collection of talent in the league right now.
