Chad Johnson

Santa Monica College

In 1997, Johnson transferred to Santa Monica College, a community college in Santa Monica, California. While at Santa Monica College, he played with future NFL wide receiver Steve Smith. Johnson played the 1997 season but was ruled academically ineligible in 1998. He returned to Santa Monica in 1999 and caught 63 passes during the 1999 season.

Oregon State

In 2000, Johnson transferred to Oregon State University, after being aggressively recruited by coach Dennis Erickson to play for the OSU team. Alongside future Bengals teammate T. J. Houshmandzadeh, he led his team to an 11–1 season and a 41–9 victory over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl that year. Johnson also broke a school record for the longest touchdown reception with a 97-yard reception in a game against Stanford. In his one season at the school, he played in 12 games and recorded 37 receptions for 806 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Cincinnati Bengals

2001 season

The Cincinnati Bengals chose Johnson in the second round of the 2001 NFL draft with the 36th overall pick. In Johnson's rookie year, he saw moderate playing time in a wide receiver room headlined by Peter Warrick and Darnay Scott as well. He scored his first NFL touchdown in Week 3 against the San Diego Chargers on an eight-yard reception. He recorded 28 receptions for 329 yards and one touchdown in the 2001 season.

2002 season

In Week 10 of the 2002 season, Johnson had his first 100-yard game with seven receptions for 110 yards and one touchdown in the 38–27 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. In Week 12, in a 29–21 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, he had seven receptions for 152 yards. He had five games going over 100 receiving yards in the 2002 season as the Bengals went 2–14. In the 2002 season, Johnson had 69 receptions for 1,166 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.

2003 season

In Week 2 of the 2003 season, Johnson had eight receptions for 131 yards against the Oakland Raiders. In Week 4, a 21–14 win over the Cleveland Browns, he had his first multi-touchdown game as a professional. In Week 12, he had ten receptions for 107 and three touchdowns in a 34–27 win over the San Diego Chargers. In the 2003 season, he broke the Bengals franchise record formerly held by Carl Pickens by recording 1,355 receiving yards on 90 receptions to go with 10 touchdowns as the Bengals improved to 8–8. He was…

NFL

Regular season

Playoffs

CFL

College

Community college

FBS

Johnson was born in Miami, Florida and is of Bahamian descent. He played high school football at Miami Beach Senior High School, catching 118 career passes and averaging 26.4 yards per catch. Johnson, who rarely attended class in high school, did not qualify academically for a major college. He enrolled at Division II Langston University in 1996 but was kicked out of school for fighting and skipping classes. He never played in any games at Langston.