Andre Johnson's new role in Houston Texans offense

Any potential suspense over Andre Johnson and whether he would show up to training camp on time was quickly forgotten when the Houston Texans all-time leading receiver and future Hall of Famer showed up despite his wanting a new deal.

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He didn’t get the new deal–at least not yet–but he does have a new role in the Texans offense under first-year head coach Bill O’Brien who plans on moving the perennial Pro Bowl selection around and have him line up all over the formations.

“I think it’s just gonna be fun for me, me picking up the things I need to pick up, him telling me that he’s gonna move me around a lot and stuff like that,” Johnson told NFL Media’s Desmond Purnell. “So it’s going to be interesting to see because I really wasn’t moved a whole lot before, so I just got to, day-by-day, just progressively get better and make sure that I’m on top of everything.”

Moving Johnson around the formation and lining up in the slot to create mismatches will only make the former No. 3 overall pick out of Miami even more of a threat for whomever wins the Texans starting quarterback job and a challenge for opposing defenses to try and corral.

Another beneficiary of this is second-year receiver DeAndre Hopkins who should continue to see man coverage with defenses rolling their coverage in the direction of Johnson and being preoccupied with identifying where he is lining up prior to the snap.

Johnson had 109 receptions and 1,407 yards yards last year as he continues to be one of the premier pass-catchers in the NFL.

He will have a new role but should still produce the same high-level of production he has made routine throughout his career.

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Andre Johnson’s new role in Houston Texans offense

By Patrick Schmidt | Jul 26, 2014