Arizona Cardinals: David Johnson ready for strong Week 2?

By Kevin Parvizi | Sep 14, 2015

Arizona Cardinals rookie SPARQ star David Johnson didn’t net a single carry for his team in their 31-19 win over the New Orleans Saints to open the 2015 regular season, but it’s hard to not wonder if he could be in line for a strong performance in Week 2 against the Chicago Bears.

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Andre Ellington, who led the team with 69 rushing yards on 12 carries and threw in a touchdown to appease fantasy owners, will be out for 2-3 weeks with a PCL sprain, as per ESPN’s Josina Anderson. It’s a tough blow for the Cardinals that could linger longer given Ellington’s well-established injury history, but the Cards have Chris Johnson and the rookie David to pick up the slack.

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CJ?K is the more proven player and head coach Bruce Arians implied (via the Arizona Republic’s Bob McManaman and Kent Somers) that he will be the “lead dog” when Ellington is out. However, the former Tennessee Titans star earned just 37 yards on ten carries in a subpar performance against a run defense he should have done better against, as Ellington had no trouble carving the Saints up for 5.8 yards per carry.

In 2014, the Bears allowed 4.3 yards per carry, and they looked below-average against the run yesterday in a 31-23 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Eddie Lacy is an elite back and the Packers have a better offensive line than the Cardinals, but he seemed to have an incredibly easy time gaining tough yards and first downs, finishing with 85 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown.

The Bears lack of success against opposing ground attacks is notable, and I think they will have an especially difficult time stopping someone with Johnson’s blend of size and athleticism. The former Northern Iowa star is 6’1″, 224 pounds and runs a 4.50-second forty with a 41.5-inch vertical to boot. He has burst, strength, long speed, and athleticism in droves, and his raw tools and three-down ability should worry the Bears in Week 2.

Since it’s highly unlikely for the Cardinals to give CJ?K a workhorse amount of touches and the Cards aren’t just going to throw the ball every snap, there should be plenty of work to go around for Johnson, who looks like the superior player on passing downs. The opportunity is there for him to seize, even if it’s unclear just how many touches he’ll get. I think he’s more versatile than the elder Johnson, and that is critical with the Cardinals main pass-catching back out.

As we saw yesterday on his 55-yard touchdown, David Johnson has the ability to change the game on one play, and that can help the Cardinals overcome the Ellington injury. He might not have the best vision and might be seen as the lesser back to CJ0K by the coaching staff, but he will obviously see more than just five snaps on offense.

The Bears were 21st in DVOA allowed in the passing game to running backs last season, according to Football Outsiders, and I think the Cardinals small-school rookie running back will be the one to take advantage of that. While the Bears were one of the worst teams in the league at covering tight ends last season, the Arizona Cardinals are set up to use running backs in the passing game more often, which makes the 23-year-old all the more intriguing.

If Ellington were healthy, he would be an afterthought, but maybe now three factors (the Bears soft defense, Ellington’s injury, and his 55-yard TD) will combine to give him a Week 2 performance worth talking about at the water cooler.

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