Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson did not make a list of the NFL’s top 11 players at his position, but the team will see a whole bunch of those top backs.
Of the top 11 running backs in the league, according to Doug Farrar for sister site Touchdown Wire, the Cardinals will face seven of them in the coming 2019 season in eight games.
They will potentially face an eighth in the preseason.
Who are those players?
They will see Chris Carson of the Seattle Seahawks twice, Nick Chubbs and Kareem Hunt of the Cleveland Browns, Todd Gurley of the L.A. Rams twice, Christian McCaffrey of the Carolina Panthers, Alvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints and Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants.
They also face the Los Angeles Chargers in the preseason, who have Melvin Gordon.
The Cardinals were last in the league in run defense in 2018 and hope to get back to being a top defense. They will have to do it against the league’s best for more than half their schedule.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.
