Was David Johnson Worth The 5th Pick?
Was David Johnson Worth The 5th Pick?
David Johnson was the best player in all of fantasy football. Johnson should have been the number one pick in all of fantasy football, hindsight is twenty-twenty. David Johnson was typically the 5th pick in drafts according to FantasyPros ADP Data.
The Arizona Cardinals running back was simply fantastic in his first full year as a starter. Was this production to be expected? Will he have a repeat performance in 2017? I seek to answer all of these questions.
2015 Season
David Johnson was the 7th best RB in terms of Fantasy Points in 2015. Johnson produced 174 points in 16 games. DJ did all this while only starting in 5 games. The situation in Arizona was interesting in 2015, Chris Johnson, Andre Ellington and David Johnson were all in the Arizona backfield. Injuries to Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington lead to David Johnson seeing more usage out of necessity.
Johnson seemed to have the ability to appear on a 3rd down or in a spot position and bust out a big play at will. The RB produced his 174 Fantasy Points with 125 rushes for 581 yards and 8 TD’s. Johnson also had 36 catches for 457 yards and 4 TD’s. Johnson seemed to have been poised for a big 2016.
2016 Season
DJ’s first full year as the Cardinals starting RB could not have went better. Johnson was the most valuable player in all of fantasy football. Johnson was the top Non-QB in terms of fantasy points with 328 fantasy points, behind him sat Ezekiel Elliot with 293, and LeSean McCoy with 248. Johnson was a threat through both the ground and air. DJ finished 7th in rushing yards with 1239, 2nd in rushing TD’s with 16, and 1st in receiving yards for a RB with 879. The Cardinals had a disappointing year and did not meet expectations, that did not have an impact on Johnson’s fantasy performance.
DJ was first in all-purpose yards with 2118, and first in all-purpose TD’s with 20. David Johnson tore up 2016. I drafted him with the fourth pick in one of my leagues as he was my Top Ranked RB on the board. I wish I had drafted him in all three of my leagues as I had the opportunity to but did not. I fell into the WR trap and thought Antonio Brown would be the best player in fantasy, I should have went with my gut and past draft strategies and taken the top ranked RB, David Johnson.
Verdict
Anyone who took David Johnson in the first round got the best player in all of fantasy football. I saw him taken anywhere from 4th to 9th in my fantasy football drafts. People took Todd Gurley over David Johnson, those people were very disappointed. Johnson is an amazing player who does things both rushing and receiving the ball. David Johnson proved that RB’s should still be drafted ahead of WR’s.
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Future
David Johnson should have another phenomenal year in 2017. The Cardinals win/loss record did not appear to have much of an impact on his performance in terms of fantasy. The fact that Johnson is such a threat in both rushing and receiving the ball is a monstrous advantage.
He should be the first pick in the 2017 draft, however I can also see an argument being made for Ezekiel Elliot or LeVeon Bell to be the first pick. I am going to be going with David Johnson, he had an amazing 2016, and has a bright future in the NFL. 2016 proved that RB’s should still be taken with priority in fantasy drafts. David Johnson was certainly worth the 5th pick and should have been taken 1st.
Next: Was Julio worth the 4th Pick?
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