Hall of Fame 2024: Andre Johnson is the first great Houston Texan

Seven men will be formally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday in Canton, Ohio. Yahoo Sports will take a relatively brief look at each legend and how they achieved football immortality.

Patrick Willis | Steve McMichael | Randy Gradishar | Dwight Freeney

When listing the best receivers of the 21st century, there aren’t many names you can mention before mentioning Andre Johnson.

Johnson was a fixture in the Houston Texans franchise and the NFL standings. He was a special talent and will be inducted into Canton as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

“Being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame means the world to me,” Johnson said. “… When I first started in the NFL, I never thought I would be a Pro Football Hall of Famer. I just wanted to be known as one of the greatest players to ever play the game, but now I get to go to football heaven and enjoy the ultimate conclusion to my career.”

Despite not having the team success of other receivers of the era — Houston made the playoffs twice in Johnson’s 12 years, losing both times in the divisional round — Johnson’s career accolades proved that he was certainly one of the best at the position. He was selected to the Pro Bowl seven times in his career and was named All-Pro four times.

The first player ever to be inducted into the Hall of Fame primarily as a Houston Texan, he played college football at the University of Miami, went on to be the second-round pick in the history of the new Houston franchise and the third overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft.

Johnson entered the league as a Day 1 starter and quickly established himself as an offensive powerhouse. At 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, he was a powerful athlete with the speed and strength to routinely win his matchups and make big plays.

As a rookie, Johnson had 976 receiving yards on 66 receptions and four touchdowns. In his second season, Johnson would take the next step as a star receiver. He recorded his first season with over 1,000 receiving yards in his career. It became one of seven seasons in his career in which he reached that milestone. That season also marked Johnson’s first Pro Bowl appearance.

Despite all of Johnson’s individual successes, the Texans as a whole still struggled to win games. In his first two seasons, Houston went 12-20. Then, in Johnson’s third season, the team went a dismal 2-14.

“There were times when I didn’t want to get up and come to work,” Johnson said, according to the Boston Globe. “It’s hard because you’re working your ass off and you just can’t get the job done. That’s the biggest thing I tell the guys. You never want to go through that because it’s not a good feeling.”

In 2006, Johnson recorded another 1,000-yard receiving season, this time with an All-Pro selection to boot. While the team continued to struggle, Johnson never took his foot off the gas pedal when it came to practicing and working on his game.

“I’ll never forget it. I remember taking you aside after a week of practice and saying, ‘Man, you’re training like a rookie to make the team,'” ND Kalu, Johnson’s former teammate, told him. “And I’ll never forget it, you said, ‘That’s the only way I know how.’ It was almost like you were saying that’s a stupid thing to say because that’s the only way I know how.”

In 2008, Johnson became one of the game’s elite receivers. The acquisition of quarterback Matt Schaub paid immediate dividends, as the two developed good chemistry on the field.

As a result, Johnson posted the best numbers of his career to that point, leading the league with 115 catches and 1,575 yards, along with nine touchdowns, and was named first-team All-Pro.

The following year, Johnson would post similar numbers, rushing for over 1,500 yards to once again lead the league. Johnson became only the second player in league history to lead the league in receiving in consecutive years, following Calvin Johnson and Jerry Rice.

In 2010, he had his third consecutive season of 1,000-plus receiving yards, but that year is remembered for another reason.

In a game against the Tennessee Titans, Johnson got into a fight with defensive back Cortland Finnegan. Finnegan pushed up Johnson’s face mask, and in response, Johnson ripped off Finnegan’s helmet and threw at least two hard punches. Both players were ejected.

“I want to apologize to the organization, our owner, my teammates,” Johnson said afterward. “What happened there wasn’t me. I just lost my cool and I wish I could take back what happened, but I can’t.”

In 2011, the Texans finished 10–6, winning the AFC South and making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In the wild-card game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Johnson had 90 yards and a touchdown on five catches in his team’s 31–10 victory. Johnson then caught eight balls for 111 yards in a divisional round loss to Baltimore.

Houston won the division and made the playoffs again in 2012. They started 11-1, but collapsed in the final period and lost in the divisional round to the New England Patriots.

In 2015, Johnson left Houston as a free agent and signed a one-season contract with the Indianapolis Colts. He played one season in Tennessee last year.

Johnson finished his career with 1,062 catches for 14,185 receiving yards and 70 touchdowns in 193 regular season games. Likewise, after his final year with the Texans in 2014, he held several franchise records, including career receiving yards (13,591), career receptions (1,012) and most seasons (10) in which he led the team in receptions.

“To the city of Houston, the Houston Texans organization and the fans, thank you for embracing me and always showing me and my family love and support,” Johnson said. “I am so honored to be the first Texan inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and I can’t wait to continue representing this organization as they continue their success.”