Johnson, who finished ahead of Falcons QB Matt Ryan, Bears RB Matt Forte, Redskins SS Chris Horton and Texans RB Steve Slaton, was also one of three Titans to garner the most fan votes at their respective position in the AFC. Johnson received 534,170 votes at running back, Albert Haynesworth 399,939 votes at defensive tackle and Kevin Mawae 347,715 votes at center. !
Titans RB Chris Johnson led all rookies in fan voting and received the most votes at running back in the AFC.
Fan voting counts one-third towards determining the 43-man rosters for the AFC and NFC. The teams will be announced on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 3 p.m. (CT) on a special NFL Total Access 2009 NFL Pro Bowl Selection Show on NFL Network.
The 2009 Pro Bowl will be played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on Sunday, Feb. 8 and televised by NBC.
"It feels real good. I know all of my teammates and the coaching staff here believe in me, but just to know all the fans across the world believe in me, too, is good," said Johnson, who ranks second in the AFC in rushing with 1,094 yards and eight touchdowns, but leads the AFC in yards from scrimmage with 1,351 yards combined. "It's just goes towards my goal of being Rookie of the Year and knowing that the fans really see who the best rookie is out there."
Should Haynesworth be selected, it would mark his second straight Pro Bowl berth. He currently leads all defensive tackles with a career-high 8.5 sacks, ranking seventh overall in the league.
"It's cool to get recognized by the fans. I appreciate that. We play the game for the fans, so it's awesome," Haynesworth said. "I'm glad people are finally starting to recognize us and stop thinking that we're just a small market team that's just trying to hang around in games. They're actually realizing that we are a good team and they're respecting us."
Going to the NFL's annual all-star game would be nothing new for Mawae, a six-time Pro Bowler, who said the trip to Honolulu never gets old.
"It's special because every time you get voted over there, there's something special that happened that season," Mawae said. "It's neat to see the fans recognize you for what you're doing, but I think the vote that means more than anything is your peers – the coaches and the players that you play against on a week-to-week basis. We'll wait for those votes to come in and hopefully we'll have a bunch of guys in this locker room that made it."
