5 NFL players who retired too soon

5. Calvin Johnson

There are two types of players in the NFL. There are those who come in highly regarded and live up to all the hype (ie. Peyton Manning and Adrian Peterson) and those who shock the naysayers by grossly exceeding expectations (ie. Tom Brady and Steve Smith Sr.). Count Johnson in the former category, but with a caveat.

Johnson was a bonafide star coming out of college, where he set records for career receiving yards and career 100-yard receiving games as a Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket. He won the ACC’s Player of the Year honors in 2006 and also captured the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver. Despite finishing 10th in Heisman voting, Johnson was already firmly on the NFL radar as a college junior.

When he was drafted second overall in the first round of the 2007 draft by the Lions, the hope was that he could give the team a true No. 1 receiver that could stretch the field and utilize a rare combination of physical gifts to routinely break free from coverage.

And boy did he ever.

Megatron made a habit of feasting on opposing cornerbacks, using his size, strength, leaping ability, and exceptional hand-eye coordination to outmaneuver defensive backs for the football. As high as the bar was set for Johnson entering the pros, nobody in their wildest dreams could have predicted the success he’d attain at the highest level of the sport – and all in less than a decade.

Johnson led the NFL in receiving yards twice, was selected to six Pro Bowls, and broke Jerry Rice’s record for single-season receiving yards in 2012 (he finished the year with a whopping 1,964 yards). He’d go down as the best Lion in history if it weren’t for another gridiron great that left Motown in heartbreak right at the turn of the century.

Next: 4. Barry Sanders