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Tough and explosive, Andre Johnson ranks among NFL receiving legends on way to Hall of Fame
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- Tough and explosive, Andre Johnson ranks among NFL receiving legends on way to Hall of Fame
Veteran writer Steve Doerschuk studied the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024 from an Ohio perspective. Andre Johnson played for 12 of his 14 NFL seasons (2003-14) with the Houston Texans.
Receiver Andre Johnson's arrival in Canton invites comparisons between the NFL's last two expansion teams.
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Johnson, something of a "Megatron" without the catchy nickname, came to the Houston Texans in 2003, the second year the city fielded the team that essentially replaced the Houston Oilers.
The expansion Browns launched in 1999, still called the Browns, but like Houston a completely new organization.
The original Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996. The Houston Oilers moved to Tennessee in 1997.
Andre Johnson, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024, stands by his glass memorabilia case during a visit to the Hall of Fame, Friday, May 24, 2024.
Despite the 1,300 miles that separate them, Houston and Cleveland were heated rivals during their years together in the same division. The Browns wouldn't have had their famous "Kardiac Kids" season of 1980 without beating the preseason-favorite Oilers 17-14 late in the year.
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Both Cleveland and Houston lost their teams fairly soon after golden eras. The Browns made the playoffs five straight years from 1985-89 and moved to Baltimore in 1996. The Oilers reached the postseason seven straight seasons from 1987-93 and moved to Tennessee in 1997.
Starting over was a slog.
The expansion Texans' first two first-round draft picks were quarterback David Carr at No. 1 overall in 2002 and Johnson at No. 3 in 2003.
The expansion Browns' first two first-round picks were quarterback Tim Couch at No. 1 in 1999 and defensive end Courtney Brown at No. 1 in 2000.
Johnson is the only one who came close to living up to expectations.
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Johnson grew up in Miami, Florida, and was recruited to the Miami Hurricanes by Butch Davis, before Davis left to be head coach of the Browns.
Johnson's best NFL days came after Matt Schaub replaced Carr as the starting quarterback.
Schaub viewed Johnson as a first-ballot Hall of Famer, saying Johnson worked to maximize his immense talent, always saying yes when asked if he wanted to work after practice.
"Most guys give you, 'No, I'm good.' Andre wanted to," Schaub told USA Today. "He would be like, 'Let's get that route two more times from both sides of the field.' He wanted to be there working in May and OTAs."
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Johnson was a 6-foot-3, 225-pound track star who won the 100 meters in the 2002 Big East track championships.
He could go deep or go volume. When he retired, he had five 100-plus reception seasons. Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Marvin Harrison each logged four.
Johnson was a physical player who sometimes lined up at tight end. In a 2010 game against the Titans, cornerback Cortland Finnegan met him at the line of scrimmage with an open-hand punch to the facemask. Johnson tore off Finnegan's helmet and landed punches before getting ejected.
Johnson is in a cluster of receiving greats who amassed around 14,000 career yards. He trails Reggie Wayne 14,345-14,185, but Johnson reached the Hall of Fame first partly because Wayne had Peyton Manning throwing to him.
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The quarterback for all but four games of Johnson's first four seasons was Carr, who left the league with a record of 23-56.
Johnson enjoyed better success with Schaub, who said his favorite target brought a sixth sense to his physical prowess:
"There was always a way to throw the football in a spot where he could manipulate his body in his catch radius and make you look good."
Johnson didn't face the AFC North often, but at various junctures he had 100-yard games against the Browns, Steelers, Ravens and Bengals.
Cleveland's expansion team has produced one Hall of Famer, Joe Thomas, Class of 2023. Now the Houston expansion team has one, Johnson, Class of 2024.
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Both got obscured because of their teams' lack of success.
The Browns never reached the postseason in Thomas's 11 seasons.
In Johnson's first eight years with the Texans, their record was 51-77. He did play ninth and 10th seasons with teams that reached the postseason. Houston beat Cincinnati in the first round each of those years.
Johnson won a national championship with Miami. Falling short of a Super Bowl with Houston frustrated him.
Andre Johnson, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024, stops to greet Jon Kendle, the Hall's Vice President of Museum & Archives, inside the main lobby, Friday, May 24, 2024.
His heart seemed to remain in Texas after he retired.
In January of 2021, when quarterback Deshaun Watson publicly demanded to be traded prior to his massively publicized off-field issues, Johnson issued this tweet:
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"If I'm @deshaunwatson I will stand my ground. The Texans organization is known for wasting players careers. Since Jack Easterby has walk into the building nothing good has happened in/for the organization and for some reason someone can't seem to see what's going on. Pathetic!!!"
Easterby was a Texans personnel executive from 2019-22.
In 2005, the Browns hoped to land "their Andre Johnson" with the third overall pick of the draft. They got rid of 6-3 Braylon Edwards early in his fifth season; he played eight NFL seasons, producing 5,522 receiving yards.
Johnson was just getting started in 2008, his sixth year with the Texans, when he led the NFL in catches with 115 and in receiving yards with 1,575. He produced 1,569 yards in his seventh year, 1,598 yards in his 10th year and 1,407 yards in his 11th year.
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Johnson played 12 years in Houston and one each for the Colts and Titans. He gave the Texans 1,012 catches for 13,597 yards.
A perspective:
When the Browns came back as an expansion team, they inherited all of the original franchise records. Ozzie Newsome, a tight end who surpassed numbers of wide receivers, is the all-time leader in catches with 662 and receiving yards with 7,980.
"Megatron" was the nickname of Calvin Johnson, the large, swift receiver elected to the Hall of Fame in 2021.
At 6-5, 237, Calvin Johnson was bigger than Andre Johnson, and he was more dynamic. That's a tribute to Calvin rather than a knock on Andre. A quick video study shows Andre making catches in traffic, on jump balls, racing past cornerbacks, and on a full menu of routes.
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Calvin Johnson, who became a Lions icon, ranked No. 1 with 1,681 yards in 2011 and 1,964 yards in 2012.
Andre Johnson led the league with 1,575 yards in 2008 and 1,569 yards in 2009.
Andre Johnson was more durable, playing 193 games across 14 years. Calvin Johnson played 135 games across nine years.
Calvin arrvived in the NFL four years after Andre, as the No. 2 pick of the 2007 draft; yet, Calvin's last year, 2015, was one year before Andre's.
By any measure of comparison, Andre Johnson seems a legit Hall of Famer.
Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Hall of Fame receiver Andre Johnson compares well to other NFL greats
