David Johnson Fantasy Football Outlook & Value 2019

If you need advice and suggestions on what to do with your fantasy team in 2020 you have come to the right place. Here you can find our full season rankings, projections, as well as our defense rankings. We didn’t forget about our DFS players as well with our NFL DFS projections. Everything you need is all in one place, lineups.com.

It was tough sledding for David Johnson last season, and you can chalk a lot of it up to the struggling Arizona Cardinals. Despite the bad play-calling and offensive line play, Johnson finished RB10 in PPR. It was not an efficient fantasy season, nor was it consistent, but we have a lot to like about Johnson’s 2019 outlook. New coaching and improved skill position players around him should open the door back up for big fantasy upside.

2018 Fantasy Recap

After missing about all of 2017 with a wrist injury, David Johnson came back playing all 16 games. He rushed for 940 yards on 258 attempts, which averaged out to 3.6 yards per carry. Not great Bob. He saw 76 targets in the passing game, catching 50 of them for 446 yards and three scores. While it was far from his 2016 breakout, 2018 was something to find encouraging because of what he was surrounded by. The play calling was an absolute dud, and Johnson didn’t stand any chance with a poor offensive line and no passing game potential. With the changes made over the offseason, we shouldn’t see a repeat of last season. Johnson put together the best of a bad situation, and while you may not have drafted him as RB10 like he turned out to be, it could have turned out a lot worse.

2019 Fantasy Outlook

David Johnson is coming in as RB5-10 for a lot of people this year, and is projected as the RB5 on the year for us. Getting over the 1,000 yard mark on the ground is projected, and the base for his receiving stats is on par with last season. However, this is more of a floor projection in the receiving game, where we could see much bigger upside. Getting a young offensive minded coach with this core of young players is going to be fun for fantasy. Johnson is also fairly game flow proof, which helps his weekly floor. Despite the Cardinals not being very good, the offense should still be fantasy viable. Kliff Kingsbury should benefit Johnson’s fantasy upside this season, and I am buying in. The chance of 1500-1600 total yards and double-digit touchdowns is right there for the taking. He is a true workhorse.

Most Receiving Yards In A Single Season For a Runnng Back (Since 2000):

1. Charlie Garner – 941 (02)
2. David Johnson – 879 (16)
3. Christian McCaffrey – 867 (18)
4. Le’Veon Bell – 854 (14)
5. Richie Anderson – 853 (00)
6. Marshall Faulk – 830 (00)
7. Alvin Kamara – 826 (17)

— Russell Clay (@RussellJClay) July 14, 2019

Draft & Auction Value

There are four backs ahead of David Johnson that are deserving of the first five draft spots, and then he sits in a mix of the next tier of backs and tier one of wideouts. Johnson is going mid first round, and deservingly so. I would go as high as 1.05 for Johnson, which is going to be his high anyway unless you have someone who is just a fan. His auction value is a bit cheaper than some of the other options, and he makes economical sense to go that route. Overall Johnson is worth the first round price tag, and I have no doubts that he doesn’t pay that off.