#14

Cam Johnson

Former wide receiver at Northwestern. 2023: 54 catches, 715 receiving yards, 6 TD.

WR · Northwestern · Sr. · #14

6′0″ · 205 lb · Brentwood, TN

CFB Index 69 · #78 of 497 WRsHigh confidenceSan Francisco — drafted 2012, Rd 7, Pick 30, #237 overall

Recruiting

4★

CB recruit

No. 140 nationally · Signed with Arizona State

Statement game14 rec · 97 ydsvs Ole Miss (FBS) · L 21-54

Top 0.1% catches game since 2021.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

Former wide receiver at Northwestern. 2023: 54 catches, 715 receiving yards, 6 TD.

Signed as a 4-star recruit to Arizona State in 2021.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Six seasons at Northwestern, 2,015 receiving yards — drafted at #237 overall by San Francisco.

His career

He barely played early on. Then he did not come off the field.

The week the volume broke through — put up 124 yds at Illinois.Illinois · W 45-432023

202111 games

Signed with Arizona State4-star out of St. Bernard

Career arc

Recruit

★★★★

#140 national

CFB

College

3 teams

2018–2023

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted (yet)

Coaching lineage · 2018–2023

2 coaches

2018–2022

Pat Fitzgerald

Northwestern

2023

David Braun

Northwestern

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Pat Fitzgerald → David Braun. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

Where He Ended Up · NFL

San FranciscoEntering 15th NFL season

#237Rd 7 · Pick 30

San FranciscoEntering 15th NFL season

View college career stats ↓

2023 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2018Vanderbilt6-7HC: Derek Mason · Balanced

2019Vanderbilt3-9HC: Derek Mason · Balanced, slow tempo

2020Vanderbilt0-9HC: Derek Mason · Balanced

2021Vanderbilt2-10HC: Clark Lea · Balanced

2022Arizona State3-9HC: Herm Edwards · Balanced

2023Northwestern8-5HC: David Braun · Run-leaning

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

69Quality starter #78 of 497?

High confidence12 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: epa / target (94th percentile). Strength: receptions (85th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

EPA / target#41 / 639 · 94th pct

1.28

TD rate#163 / 639 · 74th pct

9.1%

Catch rate#185 / 639 · 71st pct

89.1%

Yards / catch#194 / 639 · 70th pct

14.0

Explosive rate#226 / 639 · 65th pct

16.4%

Box-score rates (7)

Receptions#85 / 566 · 85th pct

Rec TDs#74 / 566 · 84th pct

Rec yards#99 / 566 · 83rd pct

715

Long catch#221 / 566 · 60th pct

Yards / catch#260 / 566 · 53rd pct

13.2

Rush yards#162 / 294 · 44th pct

Rush TDs#54 / 294 · 41st pct

Season trend

EPA / target— first qualifying season

Explosive rate— first qualifying season

Catch rate— first qualifying season

TD rate— first qualifying season

Yards / catch— first qualifying season

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2023 season · 13 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home8g	3.6	52.1	15.4	0.5
Road5g	5.0	59.6	11.3	0.4

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-77g	4.3	49.0	11.6	0.3
Weeks 8+6g	4.0	62.0	16.4	0.7

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

David Braun

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 1 game in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2023

Part-time starter

Splitting first-team reps — starts some weeks, rotates others.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

69 · #78 of 497 WRs

Former four-star. Now #78 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2023	Northwestern	54	715	13.2	6	--
2022	Arizona State	10	84	8.4	0	--
2021	Vanderbilt	34	327	9.6	4	--
2020	Vanderbilt	55	528	9.6	3	--
2019	Vanderbilt	30	316	10.5	3	--
2018	Vanderbilt	4	45	11.2	0	--
Career		187	2,015	10.8	16	--

Season	Team
2023	Northwestern	1	8	--	--	--
2022	Arizona State	--	--	--	9	--
2021	Vanderbilt	1	--	73	45	--
2020	Vanderbilt	--	--	41	46	--
2019	Vanderbilt	--	--	--	13	--
2018	Vanderbilt	2	--	--	--	--
Career		4	8	114	113	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 9 · 2023

W 33–27

vs Maryland

2 rec · 46 yds

A wire-to-wire battle — won by 6 at home.

With B. Sullivan — 265 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 82.5 · 56 rush yds (14 car) · H. Renner — 38 AVG · 1 IN 20 · 51 LONG

Signature plays

Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|

The plays that mattered most

fact

Week 12 · Purdue · 2&8 · Q3 · EPA +4.86Ben Bryant pass complete to Cam Johnson for 52 yds for a TD (Jack Olsen KICK)
Week 6 · Howard · 2&13 · Q3 · EPA +3.97Brendan Sullivan pass complete to Cam Johnson for 35 yds for a TD (Jack Olsen KICK)
Week 12 · Purdue · 3&6 · Q4 · EPA +3.37Ben Bryant pass complete to Cam Johnson for 31 yds to the PUR 48 for a 1ST down
Week 11 · Wisconsin · 3&6 · Q2 · EPA +3.36Ben Bryant pass complete to Cam Johnson for 24 yds for a TD (Jack Olsen KICK)
Week 2 · UTEP · 3&7 · Q2 · EPA +3.34Ben Bryant pass complete to Cam Johnson for 43 yds to the NU 49 for a 1ST down
Week 3 · Duke · 4&8 · Q3 · EPA +2.99Ben Bryant pass complete to Cam Johnson for 9 yds to the DUKE 31 for a 1ST down
Week 13 · Illinois · 3&6 · Q1 · EPA +2.89Ben Bryant pass complete to Cam Johnson for 10 yds for a TD (Jack Olsen KICK)
Week 10 · Iowa · 3&4 · Q4 · EPA +2.71Brendan Sullivan pass complete to Cam Johnson for 5 yds for a TD (Jack Olsen KICK)
Week 1 · Utah · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +2.53Cam Johnson 12 Yd pass from Ben Bryant (Jack Olsen Kick)
Week 4 · Minnesota · 2&10 · Q3 · EPA +2.27Ben Bryant pass complete to Cam Johnson for 13 yds to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2023 season · 13 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	L 7-24@ Rutgers	4	45	11.3	0	17
Wk 2	W 38-7vs UTEP	3	51	17.0	0	43
Wk 3	L 14-38@ Duke	5	45	9.0	0	13
Wk 4	W 37-34vs Minnesota	4	35	8.8	0	13
Wk 5	L 13-41vs Penn State	6	81	13.5	0	22
Wk 6	W 23-20vs Howard	4	55	13.8	1	35
Wk 8	L 9-17@ Nebraska	3	27	9.0	0	14
Wk 9	W 33-27vs Maryland	2	46	23.0	0	34
Wk 10	L 7-10vs Iowa	3	30	10.0	1	14
Wk 11	W 24-10@ Wisconsin	6	57	9.5	1	24
Wk 12	W 23-15vs Purdue	3	88	29.3	1	52
Wk 13	W 45-43@ Illinois	7	124	17.7	1	42	Season-high 124 yds
Bowl	W 14-7vs Utah	4	31	7.8	1	12
Total		54	715	13.8	6	52

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology