Chad Javon Johnson, known as Chad Ochocinco from 2008 to 2012, is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. The Cincinnati Bengals selected Johnson with the 36th overall selection in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Santa Monica Corsairs and the Oregon State Beavers, and played for the Cincinnati Bengals and the New England Patriots during his tenure playing in the NFL. He was selected by the Bengals in the second round of the 2001 NFL draft and played for them for 10 seasons.
Johnson had 751 catches for 10,783 yards and 66 touchdowns in his 10 seasons with the Bengals, records that still stand as the most in franchise history. Johnson wasn't just the most productive receiver in Bengals history.
He wasn't just a bold personality. Johnson changed the dynamic of what it meant to play and root for the Bengals. He made the Bengals cool again and helped usher the return of winning in the process.
No personality burned brighter for this franchise than Johnson who parlayed his franchise records in receiving yards (10,783), touchdowns (66) and receptions (751) into a momentum shift squashing the negativity of the 1990s.
Here's a look at the evolution of Chad Johnson's Bengals jersey and the impact it had on the team and its fans.
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Early Career and Jersey Number 85
Johnson was born in Miami, Florida. In 2000, Johnson transferred to Oregon State University, after being aggressively recruited by coach Dennis Erickson to play for the OSU team. Ochocinco, which means "eight five" in Spanish, was also his number.
Johnson still owns the top two seasons in franchise history for receiving yards (1,440 in 2007 and 1,432 in 2005) and four of the top five.
The "Who Covered 85 in '05" List
During the 2005 NFL season, Johnson announced that he would keep a checklist, titled who Covered 85 in '05, that would evaluate the defensive backs who successfully managed to cover him.
On November 2, 2005, Marvin Lewis, the Bengals' head coach, replaced Johnson's list with another one titled, Did 85 do everything he could to lead his team to victory 11-6-05. The list, an obvious parody of the original, asked several questions regarding Johnson's performance both on and off the field. Johnson was not pleased with the new list, as he had developed a superstitious faith in the older list.
In 2007, Degree and Yahoo! created an online version of his checklist. The checklist allowed fans to vote for which NFL quarterback Johnson would like to play catch with the most.
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The Ochocinco Era
On October 25, 2006, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Johnson, whose jersey number was "85", announced that he would prefer to be called "Ocho Cinco," which is "eight five" in Spanish ("Eighty-five" would be "ochenta y cinco").
During warm-ups for the October 29, 2006, game against the Atlanta Falcons, the back of his jersey read "Ocho Cinco" instead of "C. Johnson." Quarterback Carson Palmer ripped the label off the jersey to reveal the usual "C. Johnson legally changed his name to Chad Javon Ochocinco on August 29, 2008.
The Cincinnati Bengals decided to allow him to have it on the back of his jersey. Ochocinco announced on his live USTREAM broadcast in 2009 that he would be legally changing his last name to "Hachi Go" in 2010.
He also held up a customized Cincinnati Bengals jersey with the last name "Hachi Go" on the back.
Jersey Controversies and Fines
Johnson earned nationwide attention for his flamboyant attitude, which was often seen during his infamous end zone celebrations after catching touchdown passes.
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In the first game of the season, on Monday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens, Johnson scored the game's first touchdown on a 39-yard pass from Carson Palmer. Following the touchdown, he grabbed a jacket that resembles the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees' jacket that said, "Future H.O.F. 20??"
Johnson finished the game with five receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown.
In the next game, against the Cleveland Browns, he racked up 209 yards on 11 catches for two touchdowns in the 51-45 loss.
This gave Johnson a career total of 7,229 receiving yards, breaking the Bengals' franchise record previously held by Isaac Curtis.
In the fourth quarter of the Bengals' week-nine loss to the Buffalo Bills, Johnson was rolled off the field on a stretcher, with a reported head injury.
He dove out for a pass, with under a minute left in the 33-21 loss, and then was sandwiched by Donte Whitner and Coy Wire. Johnson was reported to be mobile at the hospital.
He finished the game with three catches for 48 yards.
Over his next two games, Johnson did not score any touchdowns or gain more than 86 yards, but he had a breakout performance in a November 25 win over the Tennessee Titans, catching a career-high 12 passes for 103 yards and three touchdowns.
By week 15, Johnson and Houshmandzadeh both gained over 1,000 receiving yards for the second year in a row.
However, a loss to the San Francisco 49ers that week ensured the team would finish the year with their first losing season since 2002.
Johnson's 1,440 yards set a new Bengals' franchise record, breaking his own record of 1,432 in 2005. It was the third time that Johnson finished a season with a new Bengals record for receiving yards.
Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson's Can't Cover Me Career Highlights | NFL Legends
Later Career and Legacy
Johnson was passed up for the 2008 Pro Bowl team, which instead selected his teammate T. J. Houshmandzadeh. Due to injury, however, Patriots' receiver Randy Moss was forced to withdraw from the Pro Bowl, and Johnson was selected as his replacement. The selection marked his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl selection.
On July 28, 2011, the New England Patriots acquired Johnson in a trade with Cincinnati after he restructured a three-year contract for $6.35 million.
Johnson had statistically the least productive season of his career, catching 15 passes for 276 yards and one touchdown, all career lows.
His 260 yards receiving against San Diego in 2006 holds the record for most in a single game for the Bengals. The 2001 second-round pick went to six Pro Bowls, twice first team All-Pro, went over 1,100 yards six straight seasons and top three in the league in receiving three times. He eventually was traded to New England in 2011.
An 11-year NFL veteran, Johnson was a six-time NFL Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro who left a legacy on the field.
Johnson’s first opportunity to play organized soccer came in high school, but soccer season interfered with football, which he saw as a potential professional career.
Once he made it to the NFL as a second-round pick, Johnson spent his off seasons traveling to Europe to watch his then-fellow Nike athletes, Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry, play soccer at the highest level, and he continued that tradition when he retired.
In 2011, Johnson - then known as Chad Ochocinco - participated in a four-day trial with Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City. He also played semi-professionally in his home state of Miami with Boca Raton FC.
His passion for soccer has grown exponentially since then as both an avid fan and constant consumer of the beautiful game worldwide.
"There’s three things in life that’s certain: Death, taxes, and 85 will always be open.” -Chad Johnson
The Cincinnati Bengals have a problem when it comes to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Established as a franchise 52 years ago, the Queen City’s professional football team only has three representatives in the Hall of Fame.
One of those three representatives is Terrell Owens, who only played one season with the franchise.
The Bengals certainly have players worthy of being inducted. So why have they been mostly omitted from the recognition they deserve?
Many Cincy fans will tell you that there is a strong anti-Bengals bias holding players back from getting their due credit. While that could have some truth to it, one player who should not be neglected is former wide receiver Chad Johnson (also known as Chad Ochocinco).
Johnson is not only the most iconic player in Bengals’ history but one of the most iconic at his position in the league’s history.
His antics on a week to week basis made him one of the most exciting players to ever appear on national television. Whether it came to touchdown dances, trash-talking, or making big plays, Number 85 was in a league of his own.
Drafted at one of the darkest times in Bengals’ history, Ochocinco changed the entire direction of the franchise. A team that had been the laughing stock of the league for a decade was finally exciting again, thanks in large part to him being drafted by the team in 2001.
Touchdown celebrations are a big part of the league today and Johnson blazed that trail. When it comes to celebrating in the end zone, he may be the best of all time. He made every game fun with his creative celebrations.
Whether it was the iconic river dance, proposing to a cheerleader, putting on a sombrero, or even donning a fake Hall of Fame jacket, the Bengals’ wide receiver was one of the most exciting players to watch in NFL history.
The now-retired wide receiver was also one of the best trash talkers in the history of the NFL. Johnson even went as far as telling opposing cornerbacks his routes before he ran them.
He knew his footwork was so good that he could beat coverage even if the other player knew his route.
Perhaps his best trait of all was his footwork. Johnson was not a big guy, but his feet were unmatched in the National Football League.
The 6-time Pro Bowler beat defenders with quick footwork that left them dazed, confused, and struggling to keep up with him.
While all of these things reasons show he was clearly an iconic player, to get into the Hall of Fame you have to have the stats to back it up.
Johnson had 766 receptions, 11,059 yards, and 67 touchdowns over his 11 season career. To put that into perspective, that’s more receptions and touchdowns than Michael Irvin, and more receptions and yards than Lance Alworth, Raymond Berry, Paul Warfield, and Charley Taylor.
Johnson also has multiple other Hall of Fame inductees beaten at one stat or another.
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