Will Chris Johnson make it into Canton?
By: Jake Rajala
The former Tennessee Titans mythical ball-carrier Chris Johnson, also known as CJ2K, retired on November 5th of 2018. Afterward, he nicely earned his college degree from East Carolina.
Johnson had quite the NFL journey, to say the least. He finished with 9,651 rushing yards, 55 TDs, and a career YPC of 4.5. He had an unearthly 2009 season – as he ran by opponents for 2,006 yds (including a 91-yd run), 14 TDs, with a career-high 5.6 YPC. He even deservedly won OPOY and earned first-team All-Pro in 2009.
With that stated, there is an intriguing, pivotal question surrounding Johnson at this point: Is Johnson a future Hall of Famer?
Johnson is certainly a gift from the football gods, as he is only one of eight RBs to rush for 2,000+ yds in a single season. Although, he didn’t exactly mop the floor in countless other seasons in his career. He was only named All-Pro once and he only garnered three Pro Bowl nods in his playing career. Meanwhile, Adrian Peterson has obtained four All-Pro nods (besides also winning an MVP award). “Shady” has also been named All-Pro twice in his career and he’s also been to the Pro Bowl six times.
Contrary to the unbiased Johnson’s take on whether he should be cast into football heaven, I honestly don’t believe he garnered enough success to land in Canton. It can be slightly easier to reminisce about his magic – given that he wreaked havoc around 2010. However, I don’t believe he stands tall enough amid all-time greats to wear a gold jacket.
