INDIANAPOLIS — Ben Johnson was besieged by congratulatory messages from friends, players, and colleagues after he was named Detroit Lions offensive coordinator in February, but one text in particular caught him by surprise.
“It was Matthew Stafford,” Johnson said Tuesday. “It was the week before the Super Bowl, he’s preparing for the biggest game in his life, and I believe it was his birthday the day he texted me on. But for him to reach out and say, ‘Congrats and well deserved,’ like that meant a lot to me. I thought it was pretty special.”
Johnson met with reporters Tuesday at the NFL combine for the first time since his promotion.
The team’s tight ends coach most of last season, Johnson coordinated the Lions’ passing game after Anthony Lynn was stripped of play-calling duties at midseason.
The Lions showed significant improvement in their final nine games, averaging nearly five points more per game than they did in the first half of the year.
Johnson spent the past few weeks self-scouting the offense, and as he and the organization embark on the player acquisition phase of the offseason, he said Tuesday he emerged with several key takeaways that should help sharpen their focus.
“I think first and foremost, I think we have the ability to be dominant up front,” Johnson said. “Not just good, but dominant up front.”
The Lions finished 19th in rushing, 22nd in total offense and 25th in points scored last season, but return all five starters on a young offensive line they believe is ascending.
Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow missed most of last season with a toe injury, left tackle Taylor Decker missed half the year with a fractured finger, and Penei Sewell bounced between both tackle positions in a standout rookie season. Both Ragnow and Decker are expected to be full participants in workouts this spring.
The Lions also have sixth lineman Matt Nelson, fullback Jason Cabinda and their entire stable of running backs under team control for 2022.
“I think those guys over the course of last year showed at one point in time, all five of the starters, and even the guys that played that were more backup types to start the year, they showed the ability to be not just be a good unit, but one of the best in the NFL,” Johnson said. “So that to me stood out almost immediately. Of course, we started with the run game, so you felt that early on and you felt a surge up front on a regular basis, and that’s something that we’re going to look to build upon, and I think we can still continue to improve there as well.”
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Johnson said the Lions were “efficient” in the passing game, but “we weren’t nearly as explosive or (did not) have the yards per attempt that we would like to get to truly unlock what we want to be able to do on offense.”
Though quarterback Jared Goff played better and took more shots downfield in the second half of the season, after Decker returned to the lineup and the Lions added receiver Josh Reynolds on waivers, Johnson echoed the Lions’ need to add a No. 1 receiver to the passing game this offseason.
Lions receivers coach Antwaan Randle El said at the Senior Bowl in February he hoped to add three receivers in free agency or the draft, including an X receiver to complement Amon-Ra St. Brown.
“I think it comes in a number of shapes and forms, but I think the definition of it really is a guy, as you said, that can win consistently one-on-one,” Johnson said. “Whether that’s a big guy with a lot of strength and size, whether that’s a guy with elite quickness or speed. I think it comes a number of different ways. But that’s what we’re looking for is someone that outside the numbers, predominantly, can win a one-on-one.”
Adding that type of player, Johnson said, could help the Lions in two other deficient areas that showed up in his self-scout — third down and red zone offense, where the Lions finished 31st in both categories.
“We were terrible,” Johnson said. “We were terrible, just frankly.”
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The Lions struggled to run the ball in red zone situations last season, with their run efficiency dropping from their season average of about 50% to under 40% inside their opponents’ 20-yard line.
Johnson said the Lions’ run efficiency — which he defined as getting 4 yards on first down, half the distance necessary for a first down on second down, and converting a run for a first down on third or fourth down — was even lower, around 24%, in the high-red zone area between the 12- and 20-yard lines.
Adding more help at receiver, Johnson said, would have a trickle-down effect on the run game.
“In particular, when we get down there, the size matchups make a huge difference,” he said. “That was another thing that we brought up is how many times did we really throw it outside the numbers when we got down there tight? And probably below league average. So that’s something we need to look at and need to continue to explore.”
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Lions coach Dan Campbell said he still has not decided who will call plays next season. Johnson said he will be ready if Campbell tasks him with those duties.
“However the head coach wants it,” he said. “Here’s what I know is I’ll be ready if that’s the direction he wants to go.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.