The Houston Texans haven’t had their return on investment when it involves David Johnson.
Recently at the Toro Times it was written the Houston Texans should trade running back David Johnson to the Baltimore Ravens since they’ve lost J.K. Dobbins to injury, and as we all know, the Texans are fans of draft capital.
Since most likely David Johnson won’t be with the franchise for the long term, and the fact he’s never going to overcome being the main player received when Bill O’Brien traded away the second-best wide receiver in franchise history and at the time of the trade maybe the best wide receiver in the game — DeAndre Hopkins — it seems like it should be time to move on from Johnson.
The Texans can find a short-term veteran option at running back via free agency for the ’21 season, plus they already have Scottie Phillips, Rex Burkhead, Phillip Lindsay, and Mark Ingram II on the roster. Trading Johnson for a draft pick or two, then adding a free agent running back to replace him on the roster, could work.
In fact, there could be better running backs available via free agency that would work out better for the Texans than Johnson. Remember, Johnson hasn’t rushed for 1,000 yards in a season since 2016 with the Arizona Cardinals, and as stated before, he’s not the long-term answer at the position.
The closest David Johnson has been to that grand number was in 2018 when he had 940 yards on the ground. Last season, his first with the Houston Texans, Johnson totaled 691 yards and six rushing scores on 147 carries. He also caught 33 passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games played.
Let’s take a closer look at three free agent running backs who could take over the roster spot of Johnson if the Texans were to trade him now or before the NFL trade deadline later this season.