Former Georgia wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie, currently with the Buffalo Bills, is known as the “Human Joystick” because of his speed, elusiveness and shiftiness.
His versatility is what makes him such a weapon on the football field. He can catch the ball downfield or behind the line of scrimmage. He is a dangerous returner and a threat in the wildcat formation.
But he also showed his versatility off the field on Tuesday night when he performed on NBC’s America’s Got Talent with the NFL Players Choir, a singing group comprised of current and former NFL players.
McKenzie helped his team advance to the next round following a pair of renditions of Bill Withers’ classic “Lean on Me.”
🎶 @PlayersChoir are in perfect harmony! 🎶 #AGT pic.twitter.com/G9lOTrWV1c
— America’s Got Talent (@AGT) June 15, 2022
“It was a great song. It went well for the type of sport we play,” McKenzie said, via Buffalo News. “It went well with what we do in life or we do in our careers – current and former players just helping one another out.”
The group performed for celebrity judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, and Sofia Vergara.
Both Klum and Vergara said yes, but Cowell wanted to hear the group sing without a backing track so he could hear their voices together. After the NFL Players Choir granted Cowell’s request, they received that third yes and moved on to the next round.
How did McKenzie become a member of the group?
McKenzie, 27, told the Buffalo News that the NFLPA “handpicked” him to join the group. He said prior to that, he only ever really sang in the car or in the shower. He’s been a member for just a few months now.
“(They) told me I was handpicked, and (I) didn’t know how, I didn’t know what to think,” McKenzie said. “I’m not really handpicked for a lot of things – me, ‘cause I’m small, and everything like that. Who would have thought I’d be handpicked to sing in a choir? It was pretty cool.”
McKenzie, who is also a restaurant owner and a native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is ready for the feedback from his teammates in Buffalo.
“I feel like they’re a tough crowd,” said McKenzie, who sang in front of Simon Cowell. “I say I got bubble guts because of them more than (because of) seeing myself on TV.
“Because I know how they’re gonna get at me when they see it. It’s gonna be jokingly, but they’re gonna get at me. And I just got to sit there and laugh it off or whatever, but I’m cool with it.”
McKenzie, who has played four years with Buffalo, signed a two-year deal worth $8 million with the Bills this offseason. He is a key special teams player and receiver who averaged 24.3 yards per kick return and 7.7 yards per punt return in 2021.
McKenzie finished 2021 with 178 receiving yards, 20 receptions, and one receiving touchdown. He also rushed the ball 9 times for 47 yards and scored one rushing touchdown.
