Where are they now? WR Ron Johnson

Ron Johnson had a solid gridiron résumé in 1985.

Drafted by Seattle four years earlier, the Long Beach State wide receiver was released during Training Camp and set his sights north of the border and on the CFL. Playing with Hamilton for three seasons, Johnson caught 140 passes for 2,100 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Moving on to the USFL for the 1985 spring season, he was a member of the Portland Breakers for six games, catching 22 passes for 476 yards and two touchdowns.

But the reference that could lead him to Philadelphia was at the bottom of his résumé.

“I wanted to play in the NFL, that was a dream,” Johnson says. “I had a good experience with the Portland Breakers. Dick Coury was the head coach and was on the staff at the Eagles earlier in his career, and knew a lot of the people on the staff there.

“So after my contract ended, he asked, ‘Where do you want to go in the NFL?’ And I think I did mention the Eagles. He said, ‘We know people over there,’ and put in a good word for me.”

With his experience, Johnson’s second shot at the NFL went better than the first. He played well on the field and paid attention to it.

“At that time, the NFC East was the toughest division in football,” Johnson says. “And the thing that I remember most is at the beginning of Training Camp, (Offensive Coordinator) Ted Marchibroda showed this film of the receivers having trouble getting off the line of scrimmage.

“He basically just told all the receivers in the room, ‘If you can get off the line of scrimmage, we can use you.’ And that was something that I had the ability to do. So in that way, I was encouraged that I could help the team.”

The Eagles had a new coaching staff the following season. Buddy Ryan, who had just helped Chicago win Super Bowl XX as its defensive coordinator, became Philadelphia’s head coach and brought a fresh attitude along with some pink slips.

“When Buddy came in, I was unsure about what that meant for our team. But he said a lot of things that were extremely optimistic,” Johnson laughed. “He said we could go 8-0 in our division, which if you go 5-3 in the NFC East, you’ve got a successful year. That was more realistic.

“And then he let go of a lot of guys, a lot of veterans. So that was a little bit stunning. He was building his own defense and kind of let the offensive coordinator we had, Ted Plumb, handle the offense. But I just knew that mediocrity would not be acceptable.”