Tag: Duke Johnson

Recent Alabama commit enjoys recent visit to Auburn

Four-star LB Duke Johnson was in Auburn recently in an effort to build a bond with defensive coordinator DJ Durkin.

[autotag]Duke Johnson[/autotag] committed to Alabama on March 20. However, his recent pledge to Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide did not stop him from paying a visit to Auburn over the weekend.

Johnson, a four-star linebacker from Dodge County High School in Eastman, Georgia, visited Auburn over the weekend to watch a spring practice sessions as well as meet with the new hires on the defensive side of the ball. He tells Christian Clemente of Auburn Undercover that he is working to build a bond with new defensive coordinator, DJ Durkin.

The bond is starting to set in as Johnson enjoys the energy that Durkin possesses.

“I love Coach Durkin,” Johnson said in an interview with 247Sports. “He’s just excited, got a good vibe, good coaching staff he brought in. The DBs coaches, LBs coaches. He said I’d be playing like the dime linebacker, so I’d be playing in space like I do in high school.”

The message sent by Durkin and the coaching staff is simple, they want Johnson to continue visiting as much as possible in an effort to learn the defense in the event of a possible flip. Although committed to Alabama, Johnson says that his recruitment remains wide open.

Auburn has nine commitments to its 2025 class, which ranks No. 8 in 247Sports composite rankings. The class lacks a linebacker, which would be a great spot for Johnson to fill. Johnson is the No. 5 linebacker for the 2025 cycle, and is the No. 9 recruit from the state of Georgia.

Check out Johnson’s junior season highlights by clicking here.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on  X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

Former Browns RB Duke Johnson joins Hurricanes’ coaching staff

As his playing career has dwindled, former Browns running back Duke Johnson has begun down the journey of coaching.

After a year where he did not log a carry or catch, former Cleveland Browns running back Duke Johnson is taking on a new career.

Johnson is heading back to his alma mater, where he holds the record for career rushing yards. According to Marcus Benjamin of Rivals, Miami Hurricanes’ head coach Mario Cristobal has stated that Johnson will join his staff as a student assistant this season.

During his time with the Browns, Johnson was known as the best playmaker in some of their worst years. As both a runner and receiver, Johnson made a significant impact on the field while wearing brown and orange. During his four years in Cleveland, Johnson amassed over 1,200 yards rushing, nearly 2,200 yards receiving, and a total of 13 touchdowns.

After being traded to the Houston Texans in 2019, Johnson bounced around to Miami and Buffalo afterward before playing his last regular season snap in 2022.

Best of luck to Duke as he begins down a new path!

Fantasy football preview: RB James Cook, Bills

Just how big of a role will we see from the rookie?

While most of the focus with the Buffalo Bills’ potent offense has been on quarterback Josh Allen and the passing game, the front office has invested a trio of Day 2 picks in the backfield over the last four years. Running back Devin Singletary was the first, being selected 74th overall in 2019, followed by Zack Moss (86th in 2020), and most recently James Cook, who was drafted with the 63rd pick back in April.

That type of asset outlay demonstrates that the Bills are committed to featuring a dangerous ground attack to complement Allen’s dual skill set. To date, neither Singletary nor Moss have put together big years since entering the league, though the former is coming off his best season to date, amassing 1,098 total yards and eight touchdowns; Moss, meanwhile, has appeared in 26 of a possible 33 games in his two years, and he finished 2021 with 542 total yards and five scores.

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Against that backdrop it’s easy to see why people are excited about Cook — it also doesn’t hurt that his older brother, Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, is among the best the league has to offer. The Georgia product was viewed as one of the top backs in this year’s class, and his skills as a receiver out of the backfield were a big reason why. He’s on the smaller side, though, and doesn’t appear suited to the heavy usage his brother has seen in Minnesota.

At this point, it looks like Singletary will be the lead back, getting most of his work on early downs. That leaves Moss and Cook to battle it out for the No. 2/receiving role. While Moss may hold that spot early on, it seems likely that Cook will overtake him at some point; after all, the lack of development from Moss is part of the reason the Bills felt compelled to select another back early on.

There is one wild card: Duke Johnson. The veteran has over 300 career receptions and played very effectively in a five-game stint with the Miami Dolphins last year, totaling 371 yards and three TDs. If the coaching staff feels Cook (or Moss) isn’t ready, they could plug Johnson into that slot, at least initially. Speaking of the slot, expect to see Cook flexed into that role at times to utilize his athleticism for mismatches, but such a role is hardly reliable.

Fantasy football outlook

Without question, Cook is the shiny object in Buffalo’s backfield. Singletary has never broken out the way fantasy owners hoped he would, which often leads to draft-day backlash, and Moss has done little to endear himself in his two years with the club.

Still, Singletary deserves to be the first of the Bills RBs drafted, as a midrange RB3, while Cook is better suited as your fourth back with tangible upside, particularly in PPR. You can stay clear of Moss.

Bills’ Ken Dorsey: We saw the ‘old’ Zack Moss vs. Colts

#Bills’ Ken Dorsey: We saw the ‘old’ Zack Moss vs. #Colts:

In his first season with the Buffalo Bills after being selected in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Utah, he found himself a contributor in late-game situations thanks to the emergence of Josh Allen’s passing game.

Often running out the clock in the later quarters behind a strong lead on the scoreboard, Moss was consistent in his role and kept the offensive drives moving.

In his second season, however, he did not see the same consistency.

Moss struggled throughout the year, in part due to a lingering ankle injury from the 2020 postseason and the surgery that followed.

With fellow RBs Devin Singletary, Duke Johnson, James Cook, and Tawain Jones in the mix at his position group, the 24-year-old returns to action following a dedicated offseason looking to re-establish himself in a role with the offense.

In Saturday’s preseason contest on Saturday, he began to do just that against the Colts, going for 37 yards on three carries including a 27-yard run.

“I think you kind of saw a little bit of the old Zack in terms of, one, the physicality,” Bills OC Ken Dorsey said while speaking to the media this week. “Like the first play of the game, he’s hitting that thing downhill, lowering his shoulder, getting tough yards (five) on a physical run. And then he comes back later in the game and he cuts one back and bounces out there, makes a guy miss, and extends a run that maybe he might not be able to do last year. It’s exciting to see kind of the health factor coming back.”

For the Bills running back, it’s a chance to get a fresh start and take a step forward after the injury and surgery impacted his 2021 season.
“I didn’t get cleared for camp until the day before camp started last year, so it’s something I’ve never had before, an ankle injury like that,” Moss said to the media following the game. “So it was different, it was hard to manage. Our trainer did a good job of having me at least feeling ready to go each and every week, but you know I feel way better and I was able to get this thing a lot stronger and feel a lot more confident in it in the offseason.”

The improvement in his health has shown thus far in his first appearance back on the field. And his play also impressed his head coach as well.

“He’s just in good shape, he’s focused – his focus is where it needs to be, it appears,” Sean McDermott said during his postgame press session. “I was impressed by his production and the small amount of carries, of course, but what he did when he got the ball in his hands was impressive, both in the run and the pass game which is nice to see. So, I think he’s off to a good start and again, I just think it goes back to the way he worked in the offseason.”

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Bills 2022 training camp positional battles: Running back

Position battle to watch at #Bills camp: How it pans out for the RBs (via @jdiloro):

The Buffalo Bills running back room is an interesting place right now. Each of the rushers has the potential to contribute meaningfully in different ways.

There are only so many snaps to go around and with four talented players, new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey will have some difficult choices to make moving forward.

Devin Singletary enters 2022 as the lead back. He has been solid in three seasons in Buffalo, averaging 165 rushing attempts and 777.3 rushing yards.

Singletary does a little bit of everything well, consistently working forward. He isn’t the fastest player or shiftiest, but Singletary has worked to move the chains.

Singletary will be pushed by free agent signing Duke Johnson and second-round pick James Cook. Both players are solid receiving backs.

Cook has the speed to put additional pressure on defenses, which could give him an edge. Even speed, speed by itself will not get a player on the field, as seen with Buffalo’s usage of  Matt Breida.

Rounding out the running backs is Zack Moss. Moss, a third-round pick at the 2020 NFL draft, was brought in to be the power back for the Bills. However, Moss has seen his touches dwindle as the season progresses.

It will be a big training camp for Moss, as he pushes for a role in Buffalo’s offense.

The Bills also have Taiwan Jones, who is listed as a running back but will play exclusively on special teams. The Bills have brought in a veteran in each of the past few seasons (TJ Yeldon, Matt Breida) who has not seen a great deal of playing time.

In addition, Singletary is entering the final year of his contract.

The challenge for Dorsey will be figuring out how to maximize the production of the running back room while managing the touches to keep players content.

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Buffalo Bills 2022 training camp preview: Running back

#Bills 2022 training camp preview: Running back (via @jdiloro):

Buffalo Bills 2022 training camp kicks off on July 24th. With camp just around the corner, Bills Wire will examine the Bills roster position-by-position. We’ll analyze the new additions and departures to each position group, and provide a glimpse into the future for the team.

Next up is the running back unit:

Duke Johnson is happy to help Bills rookie James Cook

Duke Johnson (&Devin Singletary) is happy to help #Bills rookie James Cook:

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If you’ve looked at 53-man roster projections as of late, things don’t look great for Duke Johnson.

The veteran running back signed with the Buffalo Bills earlier this spring during free agency.

The thing about free agency: It comes before the draft.

There, the Bills selected a running back in the second round, James Cook. That was bad news for Johnson–But that’s not the way he’s trying to look at things as training camp approaches.

Rather, Johnson’s using it as an opportunity to be a good teammate.

“You look at it as competition, but we also look at it – the older guys – as being able to mentor,” Johnson told the Buffalo News. “We get it. We know it’s a numbers game. We all know that, but it doesn’t stop us from helping each other out, because at the end of the day, we want this team to be successful, because this team gave all of us an opportunity to play football and we want to make sure that whoever they do choose is the right guy.”

It’s not just Johnson and Cook vying for playing time in Buffalo’s backfield. There’s Zack Moss and special teams ace Taiwan Jones. At the top of the whole depth chart is Devin Singletary.

Johnson’s status is more in jeopardy than Singletary’s with Cook’s addition. But Singletary could stand to lose snaps because of the rookie.

Like Johnson, Singletary showed a team-first mentality which reflects the way the Bills have tried to built their locker room since Buffalo hired head coach Sean McDermott.

Singletary revealed that he already had worked out with Cook in the past during the offseason. It made putting the team first even easier for him.

“Basically picking up where we left off,” Singletary said on May 31. “It’s all love, picking up where we left off from the offseason and just finding ways to get better now. He’s picking up the offense fast and honestly it’s been fun.”

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Buffalo Bills winners, losers following 2022 NFL draft

Winners, losers from the #Bills after the 2022 NFL draft:

Each year the NFL draft comes and goes and all the attention is on the players picked. At this year’s event, the Buffalo Bills added eight to their roster.

But these additions have their ripple effects through the roster that was already in place. Let’s run through some of those now.

Here are winners and losers from the Bills roster following the 2022 draft:

Contract details for Buffalo Bills RB Duke Johnson

Contract details for #Bills RB Duke Johnson:

The Buffalo Bills added a third piece to their backfield this offseason, as has become a bit of a tradition.

In recent years, TJ Yeldon and Matt Breida were added as the slightly known veterans to team up with Devin Singletary and Zack Moss in the Bills’ running back room.

After a rocky road, the 2022 version will be Duke Johnson.

The former Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans and Miami Dolphins rusher inked a one-year deal in Buffalo. Like those before him, the numbers are not anything eye-popping.

According to Spotrac, the 28-year-old signed a deal worth $1.27 million.

Of that, $1.12M is his base salary and $127.5K is coming to him via signing bonus. Overall, Johnson’s contract has another $250K of his base salary guaranteed.

In the end, Johnson’s finances will give the Bills a minimal $1.272M salary cap hit.

If things don’t work out, releasing Johnson will only give Buffalo a $377.5K dead cap hit as well. The difference between his salary cap hit and dead cap number is how much money the Bills could save against their salary cap in letting him go.

Because of the small commitment, Johnson will earn every ounce of playing time he gets in Buffalo. But the Bills clearly covet a pass-catching running back.

Prior to signing Johnson, the Bills agreed to a  two-year, $8M deal with Washington Commanders running back JD McKissic.

He decided to ultimately return to Washington, however, they did commit some dollars to McKissic, or planned to. That could indicate how the Bills certainly wouldn’t mind having a pass catcher coming out of their backfield in 2022.

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6 things to know about new Bills RB Duke Johnson

Get to know #Bills RB Duke Johnson:

The Buffalo Bills have had many layers in their offense in recent years. In that collection, we’ve had a constant in the backfield.

The Bills have taken a committee approach. Devin Singletary took top snaps in 2021, but others stepped in as well.

Moving forward, Zack Moss might have a chance to factor in again after a down year, but there’s another that could factor into that discussion. Buffalo signed running back Duke Johnson to a one-year deal during free agency.

Considering the rotation often used, you’ll want to know more about Johnson.

With that, here are six things to know about the Bills’ new running back: