Is Andre Johnson Underrated?

This morning I was on NFL.Com and there was a picture of A.J. and under it menetioned him as being underrated. I really don't think that he's underrated at all around the NFL. I know that in far away Buffalo after playing against the Texan's the Bill's respect the heck out of him. They along with the rest of the NFL feel at A.J. is one of the bright new stars of the league and will only get better. In his third year he's becoming better known around the NFL and no one is underrating him at all.

I think he is getting his props, not as much as he should but he will. Once this team takes off he will really be getting the attention he deserves as well as the rest of the team.

No way is he underratted IMO. He has 3 other receivers that will allow him to be a force in this league. If anything is underrated it's Houstons WRing core.

This beg's the Question who has the best WRing core in the league?

Here is a Breakdown of the top 50 WR's with the best 20+ yards stat in the league. If you want to talk underrated WR's look no further than Jimmy Smith. Even though the Jags have the leading WR in this catagory, he is the only one in the top 50 on the team. Half the teams in the league lack at least 2 WR's in this catagory so far this season.

Player Team G Rec Yds Yds/G Lng Avg TDs 20+ 40+

Andre Johnson HOU 7 42 665 95.0 54 15.8 4 11 2
Jabar Gaffney HOU 7 22 325 46.4 30 14.8 2 8 0
Derick Armstrong HOU 7 17 260 37.1 35 15.3 1 5 0

Reggie Wayne IND 7 34 581 83.0 44 17.1 5 11 3
Marvin Harrison IND 7 39 485 69.3 52 12.4 7 9 1
Brandon Stokley IND 7 34 499 71.3 45 14.7 3 7 1

Nate Burleson MIN 7 31 418 59.7 63 13.5 2 5 1
Randy Moss MIN 7 26 394 56.3 50 15.2 8 7 4
Marcus Robinson MIN 7 25 374 53.4 50 15.0 6 7 2

Keyshawn Johnson DAL 7 30 448 64.0 38 14.9 4 8 0
Terry Glenn DAL 6 24 400 66.7 48 16.7 2 7 1
Antonio Bryant DAL 5 16 266 53.2 48 16.6 0 5 1

Isaac Bruce STL 7 44 635 90.7 36 14.4 1 9 0
Torry Holt STL 7 37 491 70.1 52 13.3 4 8 1

Darrell Jackson SEA 7 40 556 79.4 56 13.9 2 9 1
Koren Robinson SEA 7 27 406 58.0 31 15.0 1 8 0

Ashley Lelie DEN 8 28 484 60.5 58 17.3 4 8 1
Rod Smith DEN 8 41 608 76.0 80 14.8 3 8 1

David Givens NE 7 32 544 77.7 44 17.0 3 8 2
David Patten NE 7 24 396 56.6 43 16.5 4 7 1

Hines Ward PIT 7 49 589 84.1 58 12.0 2 7 1
Plaxico Burress PIT 7 21 419 59.9 48 20.0 4 7 3

Santana Moss NYJ 6 14 290 48.3 48 20.7 0 6 3
Justin McCareins NYJ 7 22 316 45.1 27 14.4 1 6 0

Joe Horn NO 7 47 570 81.4 33 12.1 4 6 0
Jerome Pathon NO 6 14 273 45.5 38 19.5 1 6 0

Rod Gardner WAS 7 26 383 54.7 51 14.7 5 5 3
Laveranues Coles WAS 7 38 452 64.6 45 11.9 0 5 1

Derrick Mason TEN 8 52 599 74.9 33 11.5 2 5 0
Drew Bennett TEN 8 33 388 48.5 35 11.8 1 5 0

Roy Williams DET 5 24 362 72.4 37 15.1 5 7 0
Az-Zahir Hakim DET 6 17 271 45.2 39 15.9 3 4 0

Javon Walker GB 8 46 783 97.9 79 17.0 7 12 5
Donald Driver GB 8 42 543 67.9 47 12.9 4

The only reason they are calling him underrated is because a lot of the country hasn't seen him play. People in Buffalo, KC, Jax, Tennessee and a few other places know all about AJ, but the Texans aren't seen by a lot of people nationally on a week to week basis. If he has a big game against GB or the Jets, then he will be "legitimized" by the nataional media and he will no longer be underrated in their eyes. We already know what we have. It won't be long and the cat will be entirely out of the bag.

aj. said:

The only reason they are calling him underrated is because a lot of the country hasn't seen him play. People in Buffalo, KC, Jax, Tennessee and a few other places know all about AJ, but the Texans aren't seen by a lot of people nationally on a week to week basis. If he has a big game against GB or the Jets, then he will be "legitimized" by the nataional media and he will no longer be underrated in their eyes. We already know what we have. It won't be long and the cat will be entirely out of the bag.

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That's exactly why they called him underated. I've heard analysts rank him as high as the 3rd best WR in the NFL behind Moss and TO. Still alot of NFL fans have yet to see him play, but I'm confident once they do that they'll see the same greatness that we do.

That's exactly why they called him underated.

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I know. That's why I made that post.

Just agreeing with you and your post. Thought you hit the nail on the head.

The folks at the ponies message board seem to think he is Overrated.....I guess they will find that out tomorrow.

I think that Johnson's play is exactly like it was at UMiami, which is great. So many players who stand out in college disappear in the NFL. At UMiami, he had two touchdowns in the National Championship game and was Co-MVP. I think he has that kind of presence in the NFL and once he is seen by more fans will be recognized as one of the games best players.

Once we start winning more games and get more nationally televised games, then people around the country will really see what AJ is capable of. A lot of teams already know how big a threat he is and more and more people are starting to notice too.

I don't know if it is him being underrated, more along the lines of him being underestimated...and let them keep on underestimating A.J.!

Bottle-O-Bud said:

AJ keeps to himself and does not attract attention to himself on a weekly basis.

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A little bonus we get by way of having AJs wonderfully understated personality and something else that makes him an appealing and truely unique individual in a sports league cluttered with too many jerks who have less than half his ability.

nunusguy said:

A little bonus we get by way of having AJs wonderfully understated personality and something else that makes him an appealing and truely unique individual in a sports league cluttered with too many jerks who have less than half his ability.

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Well said


Saw a spot on ESPN last night saying he is the 3rd best reciever in the game behind only Moss and T.O .... Think it was Jaw's that said it but dont quote me on that.

Andre Johnson is not underrated. He's generally considered to be the most gifted young wide receiver in the NFL and that sounds pretty accurate to me.

Both Carr and Johnson have been getting a lot of press lately. Neither of these guys, nor the Texans - will be sneaking up on anyone ever again.

AJ couldn't see the spotlight last year between Anquan Boldin (nationally) and Domanick Davis (locally) getting all the attention. Side note: How ANYBODY in Arizona gets more run than someone in Houston mystifies me, but we're still building a new program here and that probably counts for a lot of it. AJ's getting ink now. Not sure I like it, because I like to see him shock other fans, but he deserves it.

Bill's/TexanFan said:

This morning I was on NFL.Com and there was a picture of A.J. and under it menetioned him as being underrated. I really don't think that he's underrated at all around the NFL. I know that in far away Buffalo after playing against the Texan's the Bill's respect the heck out of him. They along with the rest of the NFL feel at A.J. is one of the bright new stars of the league and will only get better. In his third year he's becoming better known around the NFL and no one is underrating him at all.

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Just a side not A.J. is in his 2nd year not his 3rd

The whole team is underrated if you ask me. When I read up on NFL rankings and stats I can't help to wonder how high Carr, Davis, Johnson or any of the other players stats would have been if they had joined up with an already well established team instead of a brand new franchise.

Prior to the Jags Game, Houston was the only AFC team to have four WR's that had over 200+ yards receiving.

Carr Bomb said:

Just a side not A.J. is in his 2nd year not his 3rd

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Of course you are correct and I'm wrong......I should have remembered that AJ was our first selection in the 2003 draft. Hopefully it didn't "damage" the remainder of my post. Sure wish you had been there to help my cause when I attempted to correct a veteran poster when he said Tony Hollings was a third rounder!