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Keyshawn Johnson: Nephew Michael Thomas is ‘bigger, faster’ Marques Colston
- Updated: May 25, 2016
8:53 AM ET
METAIRIE, La. — Keyshawn Johnson can’t take full credit for the New Orleans Saints drafting his nephew, wide receiver Michael Thomas.
But just in case Saints coach Sean Payton needed some extra prodding, Johnson provided it when he caught up with his former offensive coordinator from the Dallas Cowboys earlier this year at ESPN’s studios.
“Sean asked me what I think. I said he’s a bigger, faster Colston, to me,” Johnson said, referring to the Saints’ all-time leading receiver, Marques Colston.
“If you’re striving to be someone in the National Football League, Marques Colston is [somebody you want to be],” Johnson said. “So if you ask me, ‘Well, what is he?’ There you go, that’s what he is. Bigger and faster, and he’s Marques Colston 2.0 or whatever you want to call him.”
Johnson is hardly an unbiased source. And he can already be busted for embellishing one detail: Colston was 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, while Thomas is 6-3, 212.
But as Johnson pointed out, he has been proven right so far after talking up his nephew for years before Thomas finally burst onto the national radar.
“In high school, you could tell — at least to me. And I like to think that I know a little bit about football and a little bit about the position,” said Johnson, who had a pretty good NFL career himself with 10,571 yards and 64 touchdowns.
“Now, people would say, ‘Oh, you didn’t know, you’re just saying that because he’s your nephew. Blah, blah, blah, blah.’ Well, yeah, I probably would say that just because he’s my nephew,” Johnson admitted. “But guess what? He’s now on the New Orleans Saints with the 47th pick. So obviously something I said meant something.”
Johnson said he wouldn’t necessarily describe Thomas as a “late bloomer,” since most of the guys in their family waited to play football until their high school years, himself included.
But Thomas did take a little while to grow into his current frame, and he didn’t start playing …
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