The next 3 Houston Texans who could follow Andre Johnson into the Hall of Fame

Andre Johnson was the first true superstar to play for the Houston Texans, and he is also their first Hall of Famer.

At halftime of their Week 8 contest, he was honored by the team and presented with his Hall of Fame ring. They even called the meeting with the Indianapolis Colts “The.” AJ 80 Hall of Fame Game.

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Johnson will forever be the first, but he won't be the last star player from the franchise to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Now let’s identify the next three Texans who could be on their way to Canton in the future.

Andre Johnson was released before the 2015 season. The Texans were willing to rely on DeAndre Hopkins as their focal point of attack, which led to the decision to move on from the 34-year-old wideout.

Hopkins, who was the 27th overall pick out of Clemson in 2013, had just rushed for 1,210 yards and six touchdowns on 76 receptions. Once he was the true No. 1 wideout, he exceeded that with 111 receptions, 1,521 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Despite the issues with the quarterback situation, Hopkins continued to thrive. In seven years with the Texans, he had 632 receptions for 8,602 yards and 54 touchdowns. He has continued to have great success since his retirement, rushing for 2,696 yards and 17 touchdowns for the Cardinals in 2020-2022. He then had 75 receptions for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns for the Tennessee Titans in 2023.

Hopkins has had a slow start to 2024, but that could change as he was recently traded to the Kansas City Chiefs. Now Patrick Mahomes is throwing him the ball, which could lead to great success at the end of his career. That could even include winning a Super Bowl, which will only increase his chances of being inducted after his career ends.

Duane Brown, taken 26th overall out of Virginia Tech in 2008, played left tackle for the Texans for 10 years. During this time, he made it to the Pro Bowl three times and was selected to the All-Pro selection twice. Unfortunately, his time in Houston did not end well as he forcibly fled the city and was traded to the Seattle Seahawks during the 2017 season.

During his five years with the Seahawks, Brown received two more Pro Bowl nominations and another All-Pro selection. He played the last two years of his career with the New York Jets. In total, he played 220 games with 218 starts in his career and was always considered one of the best offensive players.

As much as Johnson meant to the offense, JJ Watt meant just as much to the defense during his tenure.

Watt was selected 11th overall in the 2011 NFL Draft out of Wisconsin and went on to have one of the greatest careers ever by a defensive end. In 10 seasons with the Texans, he had 531 tackles, 101 sacks, 61 passes batted and 25 forced fumbles.

Watt won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award three times in his career, beginning in 2012. As a second-year player, he had 20.5 sacks. He reached this number in 2014, his second DPOY campaign. His third was in 2015, when he led the league with 17.5 sacks.

Last but not least, Watt even played a little offense for the Texans. In 2014, he had three receptions for four yards and scored a touchdown on all three catches. In 2015, he had another goal but was unable to achieve it.

At the end of his career he spent two years with the Arizona Cardinals. The first time around, he recorded 16 tackles and a sack in seven games before a shoulder injury ended his season. He recovered from shoulder surgery and proved the doubters wrong by appearing in 16 games in 2022. He recorded 39 tackles with 12.5 sacks before retiring.

Watt's first year of eligibility will be in 2028 and he is expected to be selected on the first ballot of the Hall of Fame.

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