Fantasy Football: David Johnson can have surprising season for Houston Texans

3. Fantasy Football 2020: Extra pressure for success

Of course David Johnson would play hard with any team he was wearing a jersey for, or he wouldn’t be in the NFL and had the success he’s had in his career. That said, being traded to the Houston Texans for DeAndre Hopkins, one of the most popular and maybe the best player on the entire roster, well, there is no doubt some extra pressure is there.

Johnson has to prove some doubters wrong entering the 2020 NFL season, and there is hope that he’s not only going to prove those folks wrong, but along the way he’s going to build back his fantasy stock.

Last season, the 28-year old Johnson didn’t have terrible numbers; it was the fact he didn’t play up to the level he used to play at. Johnson made nine starts a season ago with 13 games played altogether. In those games, the running back had a career-low 94 carries in seasons where he played in more than one game, totaling just 345 yards and two touchdowns.

Johnson’s best rush last season went for only 18 yards, and he averaged just 3.7 yards per carry and 26.5 yards per game. Johnson did catch 36 passes (45 targets) for 370 yards and four touchdowns.

The former Cardinals rusher Johnson eventually saw his now-former team trade for Kenyan Drake from the Miami Dolphins, causing Johnson to become the backup in Arizona.

Johnson has not only the pressure of showing he can still be a valuable player for the Texans, but being traded for Hopkins puts him under a tough microscope, too. That means if he excels with all that around him, his numbers could be outstanding, meaning he’ll be a big-time player in the fantasy football world.