Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson is on a mission to prove he is still one of the best in the league. When he isn’t posting pictures of his family on social media, the theme of his posts are about proving people wrong and how he will be back better than ever.
And while he is still considered one of the league’s most talented players, it is lists like the one from sister site Touchdown Wire’s Barry Werner that make him feel like he is underestimated.
Werner ranked the top running back for every NFL team and Johnson didn’t even make the top 10. He came in at No. 11.
Who is he behind?
He is behind the following: Alvin Kamara, Christian McCaffrey, Ezekiel Elliott, Saquon Barkley, Le’Veon Bell, Melvin Gordon, Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb, Derrick Henry and Joe Mixon.
This is pretty low for David Johnson and it is no reflection on him. It is more of a statement on how awful Arizona is and potentially could continue to be. The Northern Iowa star is heading into his fifth season. It feels like he has been in the league far longer … probably because seasons seem to never end for the Cardinals, though they are 16 games.
Johnson was one of the pioneer backs who could both impact the running and passing games.
Putting guys like Joe Mixon and Nick Chubb ahead of Johnson feels disrespectful, but then again, Johnson has not been good since 2016. He missed 15 games in 2017 and was mostly ineffective in 2018.
However, in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense, there is a lot of optimism. Johnson again is shooting to reach both 1,000 yards rushing and receiving. If he does that, he will most certainly warrant a higher spot on this list next year.
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