For Vikings WR Johnson, there's always room for improvement

In the NFL, you have to be somebody for a fair amount of time before the team travel director hands over a hotel room that doesn't come with two beds and a roommate.

Charles Johnson knew of this professional rite of passage when he checked into the Grand Hyatt in Tampa Bay the afternoon before the Vikings played the Buccaneers on Oct. 26.

"I slid my key, walked into my room and it was a king bed suite," Johnson said. "I said, `Dang, man. My own room. I must be moving up in this league!' "

Not exactly. At least not yet.

"A few minutes later, I thought, 'Something's not right,' " Johnson said. "So I kind of sat on my bed and waited for the phone to ring."

It did. Charles Johnson, the second-year backup receiver who arrived two months ago, would soon discover that Charlie Johnson, the 30-year-old starting left guard, wanted his single king suite back.

"Charlie didn't waste any time finding me," Charles said.

"I went in to my first room," Charlie said. "Saw two beds and said, 'This ain't right.' "

Charles laughed and swapped key cards.

"We got it worked out," Charles said. "I'm going to have to earn it."

A good place to start would be to keep repeating what he accomplished Sunday at Soldier Field. At a time when the weariest story line at Winter Park is star receiver Cordarrelle Patterson's inability to get open and be targeted, Johnson caught six of seven balls thrown his way for 87 yards while filling in for Jarius Wright, who had pulled a hamstring.

"If a guy makes plays, there's always room for him in the NFL," said quarterbacks coach Scott Turner, who was Johnson's receivers coach in Cleveland last year.

The Vikings' longest pass play was 24 yards. It went to Johnson.

The Vikings converted only two third downs. Both times, it was Johnson on the receiving end of Teddy Bridgewater's passes.

Down by eight points in the closing seconds, Bridgewater threw into the end zone to Johnson. Johnson had no chance of catching a poorly thrown ball that was intercepted. But the underlying point is the ball went to Johnson, not Patterson.

"I think Teddy has a good trust with him," coach Mike Zimmer said.

In a career-high 25 snaps, Johnson matched Patterson's season high for catches and surpassed his season high for receiving yards by one.

Not bad for a kid from Division II Grand Valley State. A kid who was drafted by the Packers in the seventh round a year ago.

A kid who apparently made little impact on Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who was at a loss Wednesday when asked to explain Johnson's most appealing trait during the predraft process.

"Ah, hmm," said McCarthy, searching for something to say.

"I'm kind of going back to his grades. Um, nothing that I can really jump off the charts with here. I don't have my personnel hat on today."

Johnson is used to being overlooked. When he felt snubbed by not being invited to last year's scouting combine, he guaranteed a sub-4.4 40-yard dash at his pro day. That's some guarantee when you're 6-2 and 217 pounds.

"He did it," Turner said. "He ran a 4.38. I had worked him out. He gets separation because of that explosiveness off the ball and the way he can run. He's also able to change directions, runs good routes and has a feel for finding the openings."

Johnson couldn't stay healthy in Green Bay. A hamstring injury wiped out rookie minicamp and spring workouts. A knee injury in training camp led to his release and signing with the Browns.

The Packers had told Johnson that he injured his medial collateral ligament. But the Browns discovered his anterior cruciate ligament had also been torn. Season over.

The Browns changed coaching staffs and Johnson was released this fall. Fortunately for him and unfortunately for Jerome Simpson, the Vikings suddenly found themselves in need of a receiver on Sept. 19 when the troubled Simpson was released while near the end of a three-game suspension.

Johnson was signed Sept. 20. His first NFL catch was a 7-yarder against the Packers at Lambeau Field on Oct. 2. Six weeks later, he hopes to get another chance against the Packers on Sunday at TCF Bank Stadium.

"I know what I can do, so opportunities will come," he said. "Like the combine. It was disappointing, especially when I saw some of the guys they invited. But then I figured, oh well, I'm a D-II guy. Don't expect nothing. Just keep working."