Houston Texans running back Duke Johnson was billed as so complementary of feature back David Johnson’s skillset that the offense would have identical looks and threats regardless of who was on the field.
Through five weeks, Duke Johnson has been relatively nonexistent with 13 carries for 46 yards and four catches for 32 yards on six targets. What has also not helped Johnson is being out from Weeks 2-3 with an ankle injury.
Interim coach Romeo Crennel believes they have a decent back in Johnson, but the opportunities to utilize David Johnson have been more prevalant.
“Duke is a very good, all-around player,” Crennel said. “He can play on third-down. He can play on first and second. He’s got great feet. I like what he brings to the table. Sometimes when you put the game plan together you think about how you want to try to do things, and so sometimes the bigger back kind of fits in more. So, the bigger back got more opportunities this game.”
The Texans aren’t down on Johnson, who they traded a fourth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns in 2019 to acquire. The opportunities haven’t presented themselves for Johnson to be a bigger part of the game plan.
“Next week it could be different, but we know what Duke brings to the table,” said Crennel. “We like what Duke brings to the table and just like in the receiving area, one guy wasn’t getting as many balls coming his way until last week. Next week Duke might be the guy who shows up more in the running game and in the receiving game as well.”
The Texans’ strategy is to get as many skill positions involved as possible and to similarly give more touches to the hot hand.
Said Crennel: “I know all players want the ball, offensively, skill positions, they all want the ball. We can’t get it to everybody all the time, so the game plan sometimes impacts that. What happens on the field sometimes impacts that. We like all our skill guys and we will try to get them touches during the game if we can.”
The Texans take on the Tennessee Titans Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CT at Nissan Stadium. The complexion of the game could provide another chance for Johnson to get his touches.