'Dre named to AP All-Pro first team

Jan 09, 2009 at 05:54 AM

Wide receiver Andre Johnson led the NFL with 115 catches and 1,575 receiving yards in 2008.

Wide receiver Andre Johnson added to his growing collection of accolades on Friday, earning a spot on the *Associated Press *All-Pro first team for the first time in his six-year career. Johnson received 45 of a possible 50 votes, tying Minnesota VIkings running back Adrian Peterson as the leading vote-getter among all offensive players this season.

Johnson becomes the fourth Texans player to earn All-Pro recognition and the second Texan named to the first team. Wide receiver Jerome Mathis was the first-team All-Pro kick returner as a rookie in 2005. Defensive end Mario Williams and linebacker DeMeco Ryans were both named to the second team last season.

"It's always a tremendous honor to be mentioned as one of the top guys in the league," Johnson said. "Like I always say, when you go out and you play and perform well, good things happen.

{QUOTE}"With (the Pro Bowl), you have alternates and things like that. When you're All-Pro, they only pick 11 guys on offense and 11 guys on defense, and they pick two receivers. To be among those two receivers, listed as the top in the league, it's great."

Johnson (6-3, 223) led the NFL in receptions and receiving yards, catching 115 passes for 1,575 yards and eight touchdowns. He became the first receiver to lead the league in both receptions and yards since Cincinnati wide receiver Chad Johnson in 2005. He caught 10 or more passes in seven games, setting an NFL record for most double-digit reception games in a season, and had eight 100-yard games.

"I've just been given the opportunities," he said. "We looked at things in our game that we could add as a receiving corps (before the season), and the big thing we were talking about was just adding run after the catch. That's the thing I tried to add to my game this year, and I think it paid off a lot for me."

Johnson led the NFL in receptions for the second time in three seasons. He caught a league-best 103 passes in 2006. His 1,575 yards were the most in the NFL since 2003, and his 115 receptions were the third-most since 2000. During the course of the season, Johnson surpassed both the 5,000- and 6,000-yard plateaus for his career and topped 450 career receptions.

The third overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft out of Miami (Fla.), Johnson set the Texans' single-season records for receptions and receiving yards. His eight touchdowns tied his own franchise record set in 2007. He also set franchise career records for touchdowns with 33 and points by a non-kicker with 200.

Johnson earlier had been named a starter in the 2009 Pro Bowl, the NFL Alumni Wide Receiver of the Year and a member of Peter King's All-Pro first team.

"To be honest, I do feel like I'm the best receiver in the NFL," Johnson said. "Like I said before, everyone has their own opinions. I have a right to my opinion. I also think there are a lot of other great wide receivers out there, and I'm big fans of those guys and I love to watch those guys play. I'm pretty sure they would tell you the same thing, that they feel they're the best receiver in the NFL and they love watching other guys play.

"I really don't try to get caught up into that. I just try to go out and let my play do the talking."

The 45 media members who voted Johnson to his first All-Pro team got the message loud and clear.

List of Texans AP All-Pro Honorees

         </td>
     </tr>
     <tr>
         <td> Player</td>
         <td> Position</td>
         <td> Squad</td>
         <td>Year </td>
     </tr>
     <tr>
         <td> Andre Johnson</td>
         <td> WR</td>
         <td> First</td>
         <td> 2008</td>
     </tr>
     <tr>
         <td> Mario Williams</td>
         <td> DE</td>
         <td> Second</td>
         <td> 2007</td>
     </tr>
     <tr>
         <td> DeMeco Ryans</td>
         <td> LB</td>
         <td> Second</td>
         <td> 2007</td>
     </tr>
     <tr>
         <td> Jerome Mathis</td>
         <td> KR</td>
         <td> First</td>
         <td> 2005</td>
     </tr>
 </tbody>

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