Andre Johnson, waving to crowd when inducted into the Texans ring of honor in 2017, will soon have jacket of a different color from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson makes a touchdown catch in the Texans opening drive in the first quarter of his game against the Seattle Seahawks Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009, in Reliant Stadium in Houston.
Former Houston Texans Andre Johnson, foreground, and Brian Cushing listen as DeMeco Ryans answered questions from the media after he was introduced as the new head coach of the Texans at NRG Stadium on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023 in Houston.
Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson leaps over Chicago Bears cornerback Charles Tillman for a three-yard touchdown reception during the second quarter of an NFL football game at Reliant Stadium Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008, in Houston.
Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson celebrates a touchdown as Washington Redskins safety Reed Doughty reacts in the background during the second half an NFL football game in Landover, Md., on Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010.
Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson breaks away from San Diego Chargers cornerback Derek Cox (22) during the third quarter of an NFL football game at Qualcomm Stadium Monday, Sept. 9, 2013, in San Diego.
Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson (80) and Tennessee Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan (31) get into a fight during the fourth quarter and both were ejected of the Houston Texans-Tennessee Titans NFL football game at Reliant Stadium, Nov. 28, 2010, in Houston.
From the day he stepped off the plane in Houston 21 years ago as a first-round draft pick of the Texans, Andre Johnson was destined for greatness.
He delivered on the field and off — catching touchdowns, leading teammates, donating time and money to kids in the area — in becoming one of the city’s most beloved athletes.
His being honored as the first player who spent the bulk of his career as a Texan to be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame is fitting.
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There is no better example of what the late Bob McNair wanted from his Texans.
Smart, dedicated, hard-working, elite. Johnson was and is all of that.
RELATED: The greatest night in Texans history.
He came to Houston in the second year of the franchise and remains a fixture here. You can see the appreciation for the way he went about his business as anytime he is at a Rockets game and put on the video screen, there is loud applause, though his last game as a Texan was in 2014.
Johnson became a star because of his football ability. He is respected because of how he carries himself.
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Oh, but the football was exceptional.
He was big, strong and faster than men his size are supposed to be. He liked to say he got that speed from his mother Karen, a former college track athlete, who was always her son’s biggest fan.
Johnson was the prototype modern NFL wide receiver. At 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds with sprinter’s speed, he could not be covered one-on-one, or two-on-one.
RELATED: Ranking Andre Johnson's top 10 games
“You couldn’t design a defense to slow him down, because he was better than your players and your plan,” said Wade Phillips, one of the top defensive coordinators in NFL history.
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With a competitive drive to match his physical tools, Johnson regularly made catches with defenders draped all over him. He so often made catches on bad throws, that quarterbacks came to rely on his rescue.
“Put it up there and he’ll go get it,” former Texans quarterback Matt Schaub said.
One of the greatest plays in Texans history came in such a fashion.
Trailing Washington by a touchdown with just over two minutes left in the game, the Texans faced a fourth-and-10 at the 34-yard line.
Schaub threw the ball high into the end zone, where Johnson and Washington safety Reed Doughty were.
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Johnson leapt over Doughty, for the catch to tie the score. The Texans won in overtime and moved into first place alone for the first time in franchise history.
McNair was amazed.
“That would have been a magnificent dunk if it was a basketball game,” the Texans’ owner said that day in 2010. “He just wanted that ball. He just literally soared up in the air and made a magnificent catch.
“If he hadn’t caught that ball, we were out of it. It was over.”
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RELATED: See Andre Johnson's reaction to Hall of Fame election
At that time, Johnson was the best receiver in the NFL. He didn’t say it, everyone else said it for him.
Were he a complainer, Johnson would have gotten out of Houston early in his career.
Receivers are at the mercy of the head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterback. They can do nothing on their own.
Johnson put up spectacular numbers despite playing with average to below-average quarterbacks and rarely demanding the ball. It wasn’t his style.
The Texans hoped they would have a Troy Aikman-Michael Irvin situation when they drafted Johnson with the No. 3 pick a year after taking David Carr No. 1 overall in 2002.
Johnson lived up to the billing.
Alonzo Highsmith, a fellow Miami product, used to say that Johnson was Irvin, “without the loud.”
Johnson was a natural leader, who led by example, but teammates say he did speak up when necessary. He just didn’t waste words.
NFL scouts had a tough time figuring out Johnson’s psyche during the draft process. The easy thought is a person who is quiet and keeps answers short, might have anger issues or could be a difficult person for teammates to be around.
The opposite was the case with Johnson. Teammates loved him and he was never upset or angry.
Cortland Finnegan is somewhere looking bewildered right now. “Excuse me?”
The most memorable fight in Texans history — well, it wasn’t exactly a fight, but Finnegan did the best he could — came in that 2010 season when Johnson went to work on Finnegan’s noggin during a game against the Titans.
Finnegan kept jabbing and jawing at Johnson because he couldn’t cover him. At some point, Johnson said, “I know you’re frustrated, but you’d better stop.”
Finnegan didn’t stop, then he put his hand on Johnson’s facemask, much to his regret. Johnson ripped Finnegan’s helmet off and threw several blows to his head.
In typical Johnson style, he apologized afterward to the organization, his teammates, and Texans fans for losing his cool, though all of them cheered his actions.
He was embarrassed that he showed such a negative emotion and promised it would never happen again.
Johnson had garnered such respect that the NFL fined him and Finnegan the same amount ($25,000) and didn’t suspend him, though throwing punches typically meant an automatic suspension.
Now, Johnson has been shown the ultimate respect by being voted into the Hall of Fame.
He made it cool to be a Texan as a player. Now, he’s the coolest.
What a year it has been for the Texans, who hired DeMeco Ryans, one of Johnson’s teammates, as the head coach and went from three wins a year ago to 10 this season plus a playoff victory.
And now the franchise has a Hall of Famer.
Next up is J.J. Watt, who will almost certainly be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he becomes eligible in 2028.
Who knows, with the trajectory the franchise has been on in the last year. by then the Texans may have won a championship or two.
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