Former Philadelphia Eagles receiver Charles Johnson died at the age of 50 on July 19. Johnson was a former first-round draft pick in 1994 out of the University of Colorado. He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 17th overall pick of the NFL Draft. Â Furthermore, Johnson played in the NFL from the mid-90s to the early 2,000s. This article will be an overview of his football career from when he was in college to when he was in the NFL
Johnson at The University of Colorado
He earned being the first-round pick playing by playing great at Colorado from 1990 to 1993. His monster seasons came in his last two of college which were 1993 and 1994. Johnson had 1,149 yards, averaged 20.2 yards a catch and had five touchdown receptions. The next year Johnson improved and showed that his 1993 season was no joke. He ended his last year in college with 1082 yards, averaged 19 yards a catch and had nine receiving touchdowns. Furthermore, Johnson had an additional touchdown rushing the ball that year.
His time with the Steelers
Johnson played a lot of his NFL career by sticking to the team that took a chance on him in the draft which was the Pittsburgh Steelers. In his five years with the Steelers, Johnson accomplished a lot. First and foremost, he had a solid rookie season. He racked up 577 yards and three touchdowns.
In 1995, Johnson did not have as good of a year, but he might have been saving his energy for 1996, which is when he had one of his best years in the NFL. He accumulated 1,008 receiving yards and three touchdowns. This was the only season that Johnson hit the 1,000 yards mark in his whole career. During his fifth and final year in Pittsburgh, Johnson would get close to hitting 1,000 yards in a season again. He totaled 815 yards and seven touchdowns.
His time on the Philadelphia Eagles
After his prolonged stint with the Steelers, Johnson joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999. He would start a total of 27 games during his time with the Eagles. His first year with the Eagles saw him total 414 receiving yards and one touchdown. The next year, Johnson had another solid year, making up for one of his lower season yardage totals in his career. He racked up 642 yards and seven touchdowns throughout the season. He was one of the team leaders in receiving yards that season behind Chad Lewis. During those two seasons, Johnson and the Eagles saw a huge turnaround. They went from a 5-11 team in 1999 and missing the playoffs to 11-5 the next season in 2000. Johnson and the Eagles would make it to the NFC Divisional Round of the Playoffs that season.
The Super Bowl Winning year
In 2001, Johnson went to the New England Patriots where he had one of his career-defining moments. He notched his first and only Super Bowl ring with them that year. This was the first Super Bowl title in the history of the New England Patriots. This was at the tail end of his career as he did not produce much that year. He had 111 yards and one touchdown that year.
In conclusion, Charles Johnson made his mark in college and in the NFL during his football career. He will be mourned by NFL fans all over the country.
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