Everything about the 2018 season was disappointing. The offense was terrible. The defense was no good. Sam Bradford didn’t work out. Josh Rosen struggled. David Johnson was used poorly and had a very forgettable season.
He wasn’t awful, as he gained 940 rushing yards. But he definitely wasn’t the special player he was in 2016.
His usage in 2018 was criminal and we know this. But he was steadier as a back in 2018 than he was in his incredible 2016 season. He just wasn’t as dynamic.
Here are some interesting numbers.
In 2016, he had 34 carries for at least 10 yards — 11.6 percent of his carries. He was much more volatile a runner, though. 59 carries went for no gain or for negative yards. One in every five rushing attempts went for no gain or a loss.
As great as he was, he was volatile. Part of that shows just how bad the offensive line was that season.
2018 was much different. He had far fewer runs for no gain or a loss and far fewer explosive plays.
His run of 10 or more yards dropped to 20 in 2018, dropping his rate of explosive plays by nearly four percent. However, his runs for no gain or a loss dropped to only 34, which accounted for 13.2 percent of his runs. His rate of such runs dropped by nearly seven percent.
In 2016, roughly 68 percent of his runs went for between 1-9 yards. Last season, roughly 79 percent of his runs were between 1-9 yards.
The Cardinals need more positive gains in the running game. But they need Johnson and his big plays.
If he can somehow combine his 2018 steadiness (fewer zero or negative gains) and his 2016 explosiveness (more runs for 10-plus yards), then Johnson will once again be one of the league’s elite backs and the Cardinals offense will be tough to stop.
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