David Johnson

The DeAndre Hopkins trade will forever be viewed as the height of Bill O'Brien's hubris in Houston, but in defense of the player Hopkins was traded for, Johnson actually put together a decent 2020 campaign. A concussion and a stint in the COVID-19 protocols cost him four games, but the former Cardinal might have taken a run at his second career 1,000-yard rushing season if he'd played a full schedule. Johnson is still a useful receiving option out of the backfield and can outrun some would-be tacklers, but he's not as fast or as elusive as he was earlier in his career, and his 9.5 percent broken-tackle rate last season put him in the company of greybeards like Adrian Peterson and Frank Gore rather than lead backs in their primes. O'Brien is finally gone, and while new head coach David Culley has no investment in Johnson, offensive coordinator Tim Kelly is a holdover. The team did stock up on established alternatives in the backfield, bringing in Phillip Lindsay from Denver and Mark Ingram from Baltimore, a situation which could result in a committee or a camp battle to determine who gets first crack at the lead role. Johnson may even be stuck in a passing-down role, with Lindsay or Ingram handling most of the carries.

It could be hard to separate Johnson's own potential at this stage of his career from the entirely baffling trade that brought him to Houston, but there are reasons to think he will bounce back - at least to some extent - with his new team. Through the first six weeks of 2019 he provided solid production for the Cardinals, amassing 613 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns, but an ankle injury took him out of the starting lineup, and he never got a real chance to reclaim the job as coach Kliff Kingsbury found other backs he liked better. Johnson can still provide decent speed in the open field and strong receiving skills, but he finished 44th in broken-tackle rate in 2018 and would've been 30th last season if he had taken enough carries to qualify. Fortunately, Houston's offensive line could be in position to give him the support he needs as the young core drafted last year prepares to take a step forward. Johnson will not make Houston fans forget All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, for whom he was traded, and it is not clear how much he will share the workload with Duke Johnson (another back with impressive receiving skills), but David might have something left in the tank, and coach Bill O'Brien has every incentive to let him show it.

Johnson was healthy in 2018, but the same can't be said for the offense around him. Josh Rosen's introduction to the NFL was brutal, and the offensive line was made up of revolving doors --- 11 players took at least 100 snaps at guard or tackle. Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald were the only players defenses had to worry about much of the year, so it's no surprise the running back's production suffered in that environment, with his 3.6 YPC a career low. Even with the train wreck around him, Johnson compiled 1,386 scrimmage yards and 10 TDs on 308 touches, displaying his usual speed on the rare occasions when he had room to run. Now he gets to play for coach Kliff Kingsbury, whose offense should spread out the field for both Johnson and No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray. While the offensive line still looks subpar, Murray's speed can help keep defenses honest if Kingsbury installs rollouts, run-pass options and read-options. There's also hope the offense can establish a vertical presence to shift attention from Johnson, as Christian Kirk showed promise before his season-ending foot injury and is now joined by rookie wideouts Andy Isabella and Hakeem Butler. The setup for Johnson might not be ideal, but it's at least a step forward from last year, and backup Chase Edmonds doesn't pose much of a threat to the workload.

Coming off his breakout 2016, expectations were sky high for Johnson last year, which made it all the more devastating when his campaign lasted all of 11 carries before a dislocated left wrist landed him on injured reserve. Healthy once again, the 26-year-old will be the focal point of the Arizona offense regardless of whether Sam Bradford or Josh Rosen is under center. Johnson's speed and elusiveness are both elite, and he also has the size and explosiveness to blow through arm tackles and gain yards after contact, along with outstanding receiving skills that make him a genuine three-down threat. New coach Steve Wilks is more defensive-minded than Bruce Arians, but with former Chargers boss Mike McCoy coming in as offensive coordinator, the Cardinals should still be in good hands. McCoy maximized the talents of another prolific pass-catching back, Danny Woodhead, during his time in San Diego. While it will be tough to repeat the 20 touchdowns Johnson scored in 2016 - he needed 58 red-zone carries and 14 red-zone targets to get there - another season with more than 2,000 scrimmage yards is possible given his likely workload. The biggest question for Johnson in 2018 will be health-related - not just for him, but for a veteran Cardinals offensive line that lost both its starters on the left side to injury last year and remade its right side in free agency this offseason. Johnson is entering a contract season and skipped mandatory minicamp while angling for an extension, but he ultimately decided to show up for the start of training camp in late July.

After a dominant finish to his rookie campaign, big things were expected from Johnson in 2016, but it's doubtful even his most enthusiastic boosters foresaw what was coming. The 25-year-old seized the Cardinals' starting job by the throat and never let go, recording at least 100 yards from scrimmage in an NFL-record 15 straight games before finally being held in check by a limited snap count in a meaningless Week 17 contest against the Rams. Along the way he scored 20 TDs, piled up 2,118 combined yards and received 72 red-zone touches, leading the league in all three categories and establishing himself as one of the few true every-down backs left in the modern game. Johnson's 6-1, 224-pound frame allows him to run with some power, but it's his elusiveness and speed in the open field that set him apart as a home run threat, and his 34 runs of 10 yards or more tied him for fifth in the NFL. Bruce Arians' offense also took full advantage of Johnson's pass-catching skills, and his 54.9 receiving yards per game led all NFL backs. That 2016 performance may not even represent his ceiling, though. With Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald both in the twilight of their careers, the Arizona attack may end up relying even more heavily on its young stud RB in the coming years, which is a scary thought for opposition defenses.

After a splashy combine and a third-round selection in the spring draft, Johnson's rookie year stumbled from the gate. A balky hamstring held him down in August, and two ball-security issues from Johnson in Week 4 (one fumble, one dropped touchdown pass) sparked a stunning Rams victory in Arizona. Johnson resided in the Bruce Arians doghouse for the next seven games, limited to 30 inconsequential touches, but when the Cardinals needed the rookie for the stretch run, everything exploded. Johnson racked up 599 total yards and five TDs over the next four weeks, averaging 5.3 yards a carry and securing 14 of 20 targets. His signature performance came in front of a national TV audience — a 187-yard, three-touchdown trampling at Philadelphia. Arians confirmed in spring Johnson will be the team's No. 1 back entering camp, with veterans Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington clearly in the background. Johnson is the rare combination of a home-run hitter and a grinder—someone who can score from anywhere on the field, but also a physical back who finishes runs. He's capable of being an electric receiver. The Cardinals finished the season with a stinker, but they had one of the NFL's best offenses. This is a team you want to invest in, and you need to consider Johnson at any point of the first round.

One of the stars of this year's combine, Johnson parlayed impressive performances in almost every drill into a third-round selection by the Cardinals. While his 6-foot-1, 224-pound frame gives him the appearance of a power back, his skill set is more varied than your typical short-yardage specialist, and his pass-catching skills could eventually make him a three-down back. His career at Northern Iowa didn't always rise to the level of his workouts, however, and despite his size he didn't break too many tackles or hit holes with as much authority as expected. At the outset of training camp, Johnson sustained a Grade 2 hamstring strain, delaying his first practice to Aug. 17. The development precipitated the signing of veteran Chris Johnson, which could push the rookie down the depth chart and out of consideration for many touches to start the regular season. Acting in David Johnson's favor is Andre Ellington's injury history, but interested owners will have to weigh both sides of the equation before selecting him.