In 2015, Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson burst onto the scene. He played in all 16 games but only started five. In those five games, he recorded 442 of his 581 rushing yards, 216 of his 457 receiving yards, 4 of his 8 rushing touchdowns (3 of which came in one game) and 1 of his 4 receiving touchdowns. Many say that it's too early to be crowning him as a superstar because of his sample size. However, delve deeper and look a little longer. Focus on his film and not so much on the stats. David Johnson is special.
It's important to note that statistically, David Johnson did not just have that great 5 game stretch. He had been playing well throughout all of 2015 and he just never got the volume to produce as much. For example, David Johnson was the first rookie to score a rushing touchdown, a receiving touchdown, and a special teams touchdown in his first two NFL games, with a rushing touchdown against the New Orleans Saints and a receiving and special teams touchdown in week 2 against the Chicago Bears.
Some may note that David Johnson's best games came against bad defenses. For example, his top three games were against the Philadelphia Eagles, who aren't exactly a dynamic defense, but also against the Minnesota Vikings which are wildly underrated as a unit, and the St. Louis Rams who have a great defensive line with Robert Quinn, Aaron Donald, and Chris Long. That being said, David Johnson has had his fair share of bad games, for example, he wasn't exactly great during Seattle. However, Johnson has shown how he can produce, he just needs the volume. Johnson only was given more than 20 touches in three games. In those 3 games, he averaged 157.3 all-purpose yards, 1.3 touchdowns. He only averaged 27 touches across those 3 games, making his average yards per touch across those 3 games 5.8 yards. However, it may be unfair to look at only his top 3 games. Perhaps the other two he started may make the stats look w Over the 5 games he started, he averaged 21.4 touches, 131.6 yards all-purpose yards and 1 touchdown per game. Make that a full season of starts, and he is on course for 342.4 touches, 2,105 all-purpose yards, and 16 touchdowns. Is that a realistic stat line? No. But, it shows what his ceiling may be.
Let's use something more recent. David Johnson recently played in his first game in 2016 as a starter. He recorded 20 touches for 132 all-purpose yards and 1 touchdown which means he is on pace for 320 touches and 2,112 yards. Again, not a likely stat line but it gives the fans an idea of what his ceiling may look like if he consistently produces at the same level throughout the entirety of the season.
David Johnson is by far one of, if not, my number one favorite player in the NFL to watch. He is a great runner and he can also go out and catch passes. He's such a versatile player, one of the best pass-catching running backs, only rivaled by Le'veon Bell in nearly every category. He is such an incredibly dynamic player and barring some terrible injury, a scenario where he leads the league in all-purpose yards is not unlikely, especially with Le'veon Bell missing the first couple games of the season.
Johnson would have been an offensive rookie of the year contender if he started all 16 games and it's not crazy to believe that he will win offensive player of the year this year. He is a special talent that not many NFL teams have the privilege of having on their team. He's versatile, dynamic, and an overall insanely talented player.
Final verdict: David Johnson has arguably the highest ceiling of all NFL players. He's a superstar and he's on the cusp of being legendary if he produces the same way every single game and he's only in his second year which means he can only get better from here. He is a special breed of player that we haven't seen very often before. David Johnson has a fruitful NFL career ahead of him and will be a superstar for years to come.
