When the Houston Texans traded three-time All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals for running back David Johnson, coach Bill O’Brien and his staff knew they were getting an excellent runner and prolific pass-catcher.
The acquisition gave Houston another running back who could do the same as Duke Johnson had the identical skillset.
“We’ve worked hard in the offseason to come up with different packages relative to some of the things we’ve done in the past,” O’Brien told reporters on Aug. 6. “Some of those packages obviously involve David and Duke.”
Not only do the Texans have packages for both backs, but O’Brien believes they have two three-down running backs in both Johnsons.
“Both guys are, I believe, three-down backs,” O’Brien explained. “They can play on all three downs. They can run it. They can catch the ball out of the backfield, really smart guys. Really good communicators.”
The Texans know what they have in Duke Johnson, who caught 44 passes for 410 yards and three touchdowns along with carrying 83 times for 410 yards and two rushing scores. The unknown is David Johnson, but the former 2016 All-Pro has given the coaching staff a good idea of where the 28-year-old was at in the advent of his sixth NFL season.
Said O’Brien: “I would say David’s come in here and been very impressive. In fantastic shape, smart, really picking up the offense well. We saw that in the spring. To see him in here in the walk-throughs and things we’re doing, I think he has high expectations for himself. That’s the type of guy he is. We have high expectations for him.”
If Johnson is able to meet those expectations, then the Texans will have another dimension to their offense that opposing defenses will have to counter. If David Johnson can’t meet those expectations, Duke Johnson can pick up the slack.
