Bruce Arians has high praise for star running back David Johnson

Only five days before Christmas of 2015, rookie running back David Johnson strapped on his chinstrap for only his third career NFL start — a prime-time Sunday night matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles.

With a touchdown already under his belt, Johnson took a handoff late in the first half near midfield. He ran a few yards, disappeared, then arose several yards down field on his way to a 47-yard scamper in which announcer Al Michaels said Johnson “ran through the entire Eagle defense.”

There were seven broken tackles, to be exact. The run was one of 33 touches on the night for Johnson, and they resulted in 229 total yards and three touchdowns.

Call it an early Christmas gift for Cardinals fans, but it was just a foreshadowing of what the then-rookie would accomplish in his second season: 2,118 yards from scrimmage and 20 total touchdowns.

Now approximately a year-and-a-half after his Sunday-night explosion, Johnson received high praise from Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians.

“I don’t know if there’s a better (offensive playmaker),” Arians said Thursday at his fifth annual Georgia Celebrity Golf Classic. “With his statistics last year, he should have had 1,000 yards receiving and rushing, which has been done only a few times.”

Two players in NFL history have accomplished that feat: San Francisco’s Roger Craig in 1985 and St. Louis’s Marshall Faulk in 1999. Johnson eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark rushing last season but came up 121 yards short of that mark receiving.

A third-round pick out of Northern Iowa in the 2015 draft, Johnson rushed for less than 600 yards as a rookie as he shared duties with Chris Johnson. But David Johnson’s role grew exponentially in his second season as his touches more than doubled — a league-leading 373.

Arians called him the focal point of Arizona’s offense.

“You’d like to always think your quarterback is, but when you have a running back that can do as many things as he can, to run the football, it’s a great way to start your offense,” Arians said. “You build around him. We want to get one-on-ones. If you can run the football, you’re going to get one-on-ones, and David gives us that.”

Johnson’s 80 receptions last season topped all running backs and ranked 20th in the entire NFL. His versatility as a rusher and receiver is why former Miami Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown called Johnson one of the top running backs in the league.

“He and Le’Veon Bell are probably my top two guys just because they are so talented and being able to be versatile and having an effect on the passing game and the running game,” Brown said. “Any time they touch the ball, they have an opportunity to get a touchdown for a big play or create a big play.”

Johnson’s longest play from scrimmage in 2016 was 58 yards, and he averaged 5.7 yards every time he touched the ball. Even though his second year was so strong, Arians said expectations remain high.

“I could see him having that type of year again,” Arians said.

This story was originally published July 8, 2017 at 10:50 AM with the headline "Bruce Arians has high praise for star running back David Johnson."