The league will have legends and active players announcing picks during the 2022 NFL draft, and Houston Oilers great and wide receiver, Billy “White Shoes” Johnson, will do the honors for the Tennessee Titans.
Johnson, who is best known for his “Funky Chicken” end zone celebration and awesome nickname, will announce Tennessee’s third-round pick (No. 90 overall) on Day 2, which will take place on Friday, April 29.
In a 2016 interview with Sam Gardner of FOX Sports, Johnson explained how he got his nickname.
“Back in high school, a friend of mine challenged me to wear white shoes to football camp, and being young and dumb at that time, I took the bait,” Johnson said. “I think he wanted to see what would happen because the coach that we had was really a no-nonsense, no-frills guy. He loved football, we played hard-nosed football. But I went to training camp, I had a little success, and so I kept wearing white shoes. And after one of our good games, a local news reporter named Ed Gebhart gave me the name — ’Blazin’ Billy White Shoes’ — and when I went to college it stuck. And it wasn’t a big deal to me, but in my second year in Houston, someone told me, ‘Man, you’ve got a name that will last forever. When your playing days are long gone, they’ll still remember White Shoes, and he was right on the money.”
Billy "White Shoes" Johnson had a pretty good rookie season. He stood out especially in week 6 against Detroit, where he caught a TD pass from Dante and tamed the Lions with a 52yd punt return TD to put the game away… Of course, with a White Shoes TD, you get the Funky Chicken pic.twitter.com/O7swY7eSaE
— 𝕃𝕦𝕧 𝕐𝕒 𝔹𝕝𝕦𝕖 (@BudsOilers) January 27, 2021
A former 15th-round pick of the Oilers in 1974, Johnson spent the first seven seasons of his career with Houston and appeared in two Pro Bowls and earned one First-Team All-Pro nod.
He finished his Oilers tenure with 171 receptions for 2,149 yards and 13 touchdowns.
After spending one year in the Canadian Football League in 1981, Johnson returned to the NFL and played for the Atlanta Falcons the next six seasons, earning one Pro Bowl selection and the Pro Football Writers of America Comeback Player of the Year award in 1983.
Johnson spent the final year of his career with Washington in 1988.
The Widener product was named to the Hall of Fame All-1970s and All-1980s teams, as well as the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. He remains the only player on the latter team not in the Hall of Fame.
Last season, wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine paid respect to the former wide receiver and returner by imitating his end zone celebration during Oilers tribute week.
#ColtsHateWeek brought to you by Nick Westbrook-Ikhine’s funky chicken pic.twitter.com/O2G1TnaE0h
— Titan Up 🅿️odcast (@TitanUpPod) October 28, 2021
