What’s the deal with Andre Johnson? Why isn’t he being productive? It looks like Donte Moncrief has moved ahead of him for good. But should we also be sticking Johnson behind first-rounder Phillip Dorsett? Is Johnson even worthy of a fantasy roster spot?

I have re-watched all of the pass attempts to Johnson. It’s not pretty. Andrew Luck has gone 7 of 18 throwing to Johnson, with 3 interceptions. And just 51 yards – so under 3 yards per pass play.

Back in the spring, the Colts signed Johnson to a three-year deal worth $21 million, with $10 million guaranteed. How did that happen? I remember wondering at the time, why would they give him that kind of contract, when they already have T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief, who are younger, faster and better.

The Jets fared far better with their acquisition of Brandon Marshall, who’s signed to a three-year deal worth $26 million.

Johnson looked reasonably good in the preseason. He was definitely starting opposite Hilton (with Moncrief in the No. 3 role). Johnson caught a 2-point conversion against Chicago on a rub route (he started as an inside receiver and ran underneath the outside receiver to the flag – the opposite of Seattle’s failed goal-line play in the Super Bowl). Against the Rams, he caught a 32-yard touchdown against a blown coverage. At that point, I stupidly revised my rankings, putting Johnson ahead of Moncrief. Moncrief may be better, but Johnson will be on the field and playing a lot more, I figured.

But it hasn’t worked out. Here’s how it’s played out thus far.

BUFFALO BILLS GAME.

3-5-Ind 10. Sole receiver on right. 9 yards. Runs straight down field and catches low ball to move the sticks.

1-10-Ind 38. Inside right receiver. 7 yards. Runs crossing route and picks up 7 yards. No YAC. Penalty negates play.

2-10-Ind 34. Inside left receiver. Incomplete. Runs a few yards down field and turns left. Under pressure, Luck throws as if he expected him to turn right. Never saw the ball. Wasn’t open.

2-6-Ind 39. Outside left receiver. Incomplete. Runs short pattern. Not open. Ball overthrown.

3-6-Ind 39. Sole receiver on right. 7 yards. Out route to sideline to pick up first down. Wiggles for 1 yard to pick up the first.

1-10-Ind 43. Inside left receiver. 5 yards. Short route to the left on the sideline.

1-G-Buf 9. Sole receiver on left. 3 yards. Quick throw to Johnson. Can’t beat the defender and turn it into a touchdown.

1-G-Buf 6. Outside right receiver. Incomplete. Runs slant pattern into end zone, but cornerback Stephon Gilmore is all over it and arrives at the ball the same time he does. Can’t body up Gilmore to make it a big-body touchdown.

2-POINT CONVERSION. Outside right receiver. Incomplete. Loses Gilmore to get open in back of end zone. Hot ball comes in over his head. Gets both hands up and gets both hands on it, but can’t catch it. Drop.

2-10-Ind 49. Outside left receiver. Incomplete. Late in game, Bills have the lead and corners are playing well off, knowing Colts have to throw deeper now. Johnson tries comeback route 20 yards downfield, but he’s not open and ball is underthrown.

3-10-Ind 49. Outside right receiver. Incomplete. Same kind of deal. Runs a deeper route. But he’s not open and the throw is wide.

4-10-Ind 49. Outside right receiver. INTERCEPTION. Bills know deeper route is coming. Johnson is completely covered. Defensive back (Gilmore, I think) is all over him and has just as much chance to catch the ball. He tips it up, and Aaron Williams picks it off. Johnson wasn’t open.

NEW YORK JETS GAME.

3-11-Ind 10. Inside left receiver. 3 yard gain. Runs short route to the sideline and Luck throws to for short gain. Buster Skrine throws him out of bounds hard and gets flagged 15 yards. Technically, the Colts then pick up the first down, but the play made no sense. The Jets jumped offsides prior to the snap, so it was a free play. Aaron Rodgers has thrown multiple touchdowns in these situations already this year. Luck threw a short ball to a receiver with no chance of picking up any additional yards.

2-18-Ind 20. Inside left receiver. INTERCEPTION. Runs slant route. Ball is high and behind him. Johnson deflects it up by reaching back with his left hand. Poor throw. He was open.

3-1-Ind 28. Outside left receiver. Incompletion. Attempts short route to sideline, but Antonio Cromartie is all over it, knocking it down. In his prime, Cromartie would have picked it off.

1-10-Ind 22. Inside left receiver. 12 yards. Runs slant route versus Skrine, with a few YAC.

1-10-Ind 34. Inside left receiver. Incomplete. Runs out route to left side line. Skrine gets there the same time as the ball and knocks it away with his left hand.

1-10-Ind 33. Inside right receiver. 11 yards. Out route to right sideline. No YAC. Pretty well covered.

1-10-Ind 44. Inside right receiver. INTERCEPTION. Another throw for the right sideline. This time Marcus Gilchrist beats him to the ball.

TENNESSEE TITANS GAME.

2-20-Ind 10. Inside right receiver. Incompletion. Colts run Johnson on short pattern underneath, looking to pick up some cheap yards. Bounces off his left biceps. Dropped.

And that was it, remarkably. One pass attempt in the entire game. They did not bench him, though. Johnson played extensively throughout this game, even in the third and fourth quarters. I believe he was out for one series in the fourth quarter, and I saw many plays where they had just Hilton and Moncrief on the field. There were also a few where the three receivers were Hilton-Moncrief-Dorsett. But Johnson was very much a part of the offense. I don’t have official participation numbers, but I would say that Johnson in this game was the No. 3 receiver a lot more often than Dorsett.

To me, this looks like a deal where Johnson just doesn’t have it anymore. He’s 34, and he seems to have aged a lot faster than Steve Smith (who’s 36 and still running by people). Johnson looks like a tight end, lumbering down the field. He’s not explosive. He has no ability to get behind defenses anymore. I remember when he came into the league, and it quickly became apparent in his first few preseason games that he was a physical freak – I remember comparing him to a young Terrell Owens. Johnson was a guy who could catch a slant route and turn it into a 60-yard touchdown. He’s not that guy anymore. I would say the decline here is more due to his lack of athleticism, rather than him needing more time to adjust to the team’s offense.

Hilton and Moncrief look much, much better than Johnson right now. If one of those guys happens to get hurt, I would guess that Dorsett would then have a much better chance than Johnson of stepping up during that period.

In my eyes, the only flicker of hope with Johnson is the Texans background. You’ve got to figure he’ll be up for those games, and they might try to get him the ball more in those games. They would not insult him (would they?) by not at least feeding him a few balls against his former team. And as luck would have it, the Colts play the Texans next week.

But Johnson, to me, looks like a guy who is done.

—Ian Allan