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Keyshawn Johnson made a bold comparison about nephew Mike Thomas

Connor O'Gara

By Connor O'Gara

Published:

Keyshawn Johnson never had a problem telling people how good he thought he was. The co-author of his autobiography “Just Give Me The Damn Ball,” Johnson made headlines throughout his playing and broadcasting career for some of the bold statements he made.

Johnson is still making bold statements, but not necessarily about himself.

Apparently when New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton was in the ESPN studios earlier last month, he sought Johnson’s advice on his nephew, former Ohio State receiver Mike Thomas.

He offered up quite the comparison.

“Sean asked me what I think. I said he’s a bigger, faster Colston, to me,” Johnson said to ESPN, 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.”

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For what it’s worth, Colston is an inch taller and a few pounds heavier than Thomas.

It wasn’t meant to be a knock on Colston, who is one of the best seventh-round picks in NFL draft history. To say that Thomas has that physical makeup before playing an NFL down is noteworthy.

In March, Colston was released by the Saints after 10 seasons. To replace him, Payton did indeed draft Thomas in the second round, which could’ve been partially because of Johnson’s biased recommendation.

At least he can admit he’s biased.

“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 said. “But guess what? He’s now on the New Orleans Saints with the 47th pick. So obviously something I said meant something.”

Keyshawn Johnson’s son, of course, is committed to Nebraska for the 2017 season. Bank on another bold comparison when/if his time comes.

Connor O'Gara

Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.