Tag: Duke Johnson

Pro Football Focus thinks Duke Johnson is the Texans’ best running back

According to Pro Football Focus’ grades, the best running back on the Houston Texans is Duke Johnson.

Pro Football Focus is at it again, and this time the football scouting and analytics firm has suggested Duke Johnson is the best Houston Texans running back.

According to Ben Linsey, who ranked his top-25 NFL running backs heading into the 2020 season, Duke Johnson was placed No. 25 overall while David Johnson didn’t even make the list.

Going purely off his grading profile and efficiency numbers, Johnson has a pretty strong case to be higher in these rankings. Here is the list of running backs to play at least 1,000 snaps over the past three seasons and put up PFF rushing and receiving grades higher than 80.0:

McCaffrey does just miss the cut with a 79.9 rushing grade, but that’s the entire list. Of course, the catch is that Johnson has done that in a complementary pass-catching role and didn’t carry the ball more than 83 times in any of those seasons, never truly taking over as the lead back for any extended stretch. Still, it would be nice to see what he could do in that lead role. He has profiled as one of the most elusive running backs in the NFL throughout much of his career. 

The theme is one that Adam Rank from NFL.com hit on in early July when he suggested that Duke Johnson was an every down back.

“That’s the biggest thing, especially with a split backfield, or in any case, just making the best out of any opportunity because you never know when you get your next one,” Johnson told reporters on Aug. 17. “In this league, if someone catches fire, you feed them the ball as much as possible. So when I have opportunities to make plays, I just try to make them.”

The Texans do believe they have two three-down backs in Duke Johnson and David Johnson. Regardless of who starts, Houston is hopeful they have enough talent to make the running game a complementary threat to quarterback Deshaun Watson.

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Eagles’ Miles Sanders makes a PFF ranking of the NFL’s top-25 running backs for 2020

Miles Sanders is No. 23 in a PFF ranking of the NFL’s top-25 RB’s

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The NFL is full of talented running backs and the Philadelphia Eagles just so happen to have one of the best young ball carriers on the planet sitting on their roster.

Pro Football Focus recently ranked the top-25 running backs in the NFL entering the 2020 NFL season and Sanders made the cut, landing at No. 23 on the list.

23. MILES SANDERS, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Sanders did a lot of exciting things as a receiver out of the backfield in 2019, which was much-needed in an Eagles’ offense that lacked receiving threats toward the end of the season. He caught 50 passes and averaged 10.2 yards per reception, which ranked second among 19 running backs with at least 50 targets. That’s why he comes in on this list of the top 25 running backs in the NFL heading into next season.

However, the reason that he’s lower on this list than some may think he should be is that the rushing grade just wasn’t there this past season. Despite what his 4.6 yards per carry would suggest, Sanders earned just a 59.5 rushing grade on the season. It speaks to the idea that his success on the ground was more a product of the PFF’s highest-graded run-blocking offensive line in 2019 than it was his play as a runner. Sanders is a former five-star recruit — a natural athlete with the requisite burst, explosiveness and agility needed to be a high-level NFL runner. I’d expect the grade (and his ranking) to rise in 2020 with fewer fumbles as long as his vision continues to improve.

Playing behind Jordan Howard got Sanders off to a slow start as a rookie but once he was inserted into the lineup, Sanders took off, joining seven other running backs in history since 1965 to record 725 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards as a rookie.

Those numbers should rise as Sanders becomes the Eagles’ workhorse back, and his standing among the NFL’s elite ball carriers should rise as well.

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Do the Texans have 2 three-down running backs?

The Houston Texans have two RBs in David Johnson and Duke Johnson that coach Bill O’Brien feels have the same skillsets and to be three-down backs.

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.

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The Texans hope to take advantage of the run game

The focus of the 2020 offseason has been the Houston Texans’ passing game, but Tim Kelly hopes to utilize mismatches in the run game, too.

When evaluating the Houston Texans’ personnel moves on offense, the immediate focus is the passing game. After all, that is where the biggest changes occurred with DeAndre Hopkins shipped to the Arizona Cardinals and Brandin Cooks acquired from the Los Angeles Rams and Randall Cobb signed in free agency.

However, second-year offensive coordinator Tim Kelly isn’t just looking at the mismatches and one-on-ones his schemes can create in the passing game. Kelly hopes to utilize running backs David Johnson and Duke Johnson in exploitable situations in the run game.

“Schematically, obviously being able to try and take advantage of multiple people that can win one-on-one matchups, not just in the passing game but in the running game,” Kelly told reporters on Aug. 5. “So, being able to take advantage of the unique skillsets that these guys are going to present.”

David Johnson tallied over 2,000 scrimmage yards in 2016, earning him his lone All-Pro year of his career. Last season, Duke Johnson had a career high in rushing yards, indicating the Texans saw the former Cleveland Brown as more than a pass-catching back.

Kelly likes the enthusiasm he sees daily from the offensive personnel.

Said Kelly: “Coming in every day, I think we have great guys. Being able to work with them and now being able to see them in person, getting to learn their body language and the different interactions — that’s exciting. That’s just because they’re great people and they’re great football players and, again, they come here with a great attitude.”

If the Texans can find a way to make the run game as effective as the passing game, especially in its ability to create one-on-one situations for their dynamic, versatile running backs, then it should enable quarterback Deshaun Watson to carry less of the load as Houston seeks to repeat as AFC South champions for the third time since 2018.

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Deshaun Watson expects Texans’ running backs to create confusion for opposing defenses

The Houston Texans have identical running backs in David Johnson and Duke Johnson, and Deshaun Watson expects them to trip up defenses in 2020.

To say the Houston Texans have two running backs atop the depth chart that are similar is an understatement. The two players even share the same surname.

With the Texans trading three-time All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals for former All-Pro David Johnson, Houston was getting a running back with an identical skillset to Duke Johnson, who was already on their roster.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson loves the similarities the two running backs will bring to the offense.

“They can create so much, you have to respect that,” Watson told reporters on Aug. 1. “Not just running the ball, so you have to respect, is it going to be a pass or is it going to be a run? With both of those guys on the field you don’t know who’s going to touch the ball.”

Though EA Sports says otherwise, the Texans will more than likely have David Johnson as the starter and the bell cow for the running game. However, the former 2015 third-round pick from Northern Iowa wasn’t coveted as a fantasy draft pick strictly for his carries; Johnson has the ability to catch passes out of the backfield.

However, David isn’t the only Johnson Watson will have at his disposal when he drops back.

“Then you have Duke, his coming out of the backfield and his ability and agility and ability to move, and things like that,” said Watson. “It’s been good to be able to have two guys like that. I’ve never had that in my career, so it’s going to be fun to be able to play with both of them and see what we can do.”

The strategy behind the Texans’ offense in 2020 is to provide Watson with a variety of weapons. If Watson has more firepower coming out of the backfield, defenses will have to respect it, which will only open up greater opportunities downfield.

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Texans RB Duke Johnson could be a fantasy football sleeper in 2020

Houston Texans running back Duke Johnson may be a sleeper pick in fantasy football in the 2020 season.

Very few would disagree that Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey is a solid selection for fantasy football. The 5-11, 205-pound running back churned 2,392 scrimmage yards in 2019.

However, in terms of PPR points per touch, McCaffrey had the third-highest ranking in that metric, according to Pro Football Focus. In fact, McCaffrey, who is rightly recognized for his work, was tied with the Houston Texans’ Duke Johnson with 1.2 PPR points per touch last year.

Johnson collected three receiving touchdowns in his first season with the Texans. The former Cleveland Brown also displayed his versatility as a runner with two rushing touchdowns.

Johnson wouldn’t be a player that would be taken as high as McCaffrey. In fact, Johnson will take a back seat to the other Johnson, David Johnson, as the top guy on the Texans’ depth chart.

However, Johnson would make for a decent waiver wire pickup when the starters could be on a bye week. The former Miami Hurricane caught 44 passes for 410 yards in 2019.

Tim Kelly: Texans running backs stable will open up play-calling

Houston Texans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly expects the pairing of David Johnson and Duke Johnson to open up the play-calling in 2020.

The Houston Texans’ top two running backs in David Johnson and Duke Johnson both have unique skills as pass-catchers.

David tallied 208 catches for 2,219 yards and 15 touchdowns in his five seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. This receiving production from a running back amplifies what they already have with Duke, who caught 44 passes for 410 yards and three touchdowns in his first season with the Texans.

Second-year offensive coordinator Tim Kelly, who takes over the reins as the play-caller, likes having two running backs with similar skillsets.

“I think it opens up the play calling, obviously,” Kelly told reporters on May 20. “You’re not limited by a guy’s ability to only run the ball or only catch the ball. When you have guys that are versatile and are both a vital running threat and a good receiving threat, it allows you to open up and be creative and find different ways to get guys the ball in space and do some good things.”

The Texans traded for Duke in on Aug. 8, 2019, the day of Houston’s preseason debut at the Green Bay Packers. The former Cleveland Brown had to learn the new offense as he went.

Houston also added other pieces to their passing game at the end of preseason in left tackle Laremy Tunsil and receiver Kenny Stills. Unlike Duke, the former Miami Dolphins did not have the benefit of preseason games to mesh with the new offense.

With a full offseason, even if virtual, for both Johnsons, Tunsil, and Stills, Kelly is hopeful the Texans will feature a more well-rounded offense that is on the same page as they seek to defend their AFC South title.

“A lot of this stuff that we’re covering right now, it’s the first time they’re really being able to kind of hear it in depth and it’s really, really good,” Kelly said.

Trader Bill: A timeline of Texans trades under GM Bill O’Brien

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien has been active with trades since gaining influence as general manager in the summer of 2019.

The Houston Texans fired general manager Brian Gaine on June 7, 2019, and executive vice president of football administration Chris Olsen was appointed interim GM. However, coach Bill O’Brien had considerable front office influence, and later O’Brien was officially given the general manager title after the 2019 season.

Since Aug. 8, 2019, the Texans have executed seven trades, dealing away 13 players/picks and acquiring 16 players/picks. Here is a look at a timeline of each trade.

Aug. 8 — Trade with Cleveland Browns for Duke Johnson

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O’Brien wasn’t comfortable with the depth behind starting running back, Lamar Miller. Third-year rusher D’Onta Foreman was in the doghouse and later waived. The Texans traded a conditional pick, which manifested into a 2020 third-rounder, to the Browns to acquire Johnson.

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NFL comp picks 2020: Browns get no extra draft selections

NFL comp picks 2020: Browns get no extra draft selections

The NFL revealed the compensatory draft picks awarded to teams for net losses in free agency. As expected, the Cleveland Browns did not receive any comp picks for the 2020 NFL Draft.

Comp picks are awarded to teams who lost more value in free agency than they gained by signing free agents. The Browns were not candidates, not after signing DT Sheldon Richardson, TE Demetrius Harris, LB Adarius Taylor and others. The only significant free agent contracts signed by ex-Browns were QB Tyrod Taylor (Chargers) and WR Breshad Perriman (Buccaneers).

More explanation on the formula from Over The Cap,

As the NFL explains, compensatory picks are awarded to teams that lose more or better compensatory free agents than they acquire. The number of picks a team can receive equals the net loss of compensatory free agents, up to a maximum of four. Compensatory free agents are determined by a secret formula based on salary, playing time and postseason honors. Not every free agent lost or signed is covered by the formula.

The Browns might not be completely shut out of the comp picks, however. The Houston Texans will get a third-round compensatory pick and they owe the Browns a 2020 third-rounder from the trade for RB Duke Johnson. It is currently unclear if that will be the pick the Texans convey to the Browns.

The last time the Browns earned comp picks was 2017, when they earned four.

Browns carrying just over $5 million in dead cap room into 2020

Cleveland ranks 7th in the league in dead cap obligations

Dead salary cap room is what happens when a team is still obligated to allocate a portion of its cap figure to players no longer on the team. The Cleveland Browns will pay just over $5 million in 2020 salary cap space to players who are now ex-Browns.

It’s the cost of doing business to subtract players, whether via trades or simply cutting ties with the players.

The two biggest dead cap hits come from traded players. Offensive lineman Austin Corbett and running back Duke Johnson account for over half of the dead cap, from bonuses they got as Browns and the team is obligated to count.

  • Austin Corbett $1,773,962
  • Duke Johnson $1,500,000
  • Chris Smith $1,166,668
  • Antonio Callaway $358,928
  • Genard Avery $144,474
  • Donnie Lewis $76,443
  • David Blough $13,337

Several other players count as hits under $10,000 to raise the exact total, per Over The Cap, to $5,087,312 in dead money. That figure ranks seventh in the NFL. The Carolina Panthers carry the most dead money at $15.6 million. Tampa Bay sits with the lowest dead cap figure at just $130,412.