5 breakout stars to watch for Houston Texans in 2020

4. RB Duke Johnson

He was never the feature back during his four-year stay with the Cleveland Browns. After being dealt to the Houston Texans about a year ago, he took a back seat in many ways to Carlos Hyde. This offseason, the team obtained versatile David Johnson as part of a much-discussed deal that sent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals.

Duke Johnson was a seven-game starter as a rookie in 2015. The former University of Miami standout totaled a career-best 104 rushing attempts, but his forte has always been as a pass-catcher. In four seasons with the Browns, he played in every game and finished with more receiving yards (2,170) than rushing yards (1,286).

But in his first season with the Texans, Johnson finished with 820 yards from scrimmage – equally split between rushing yards and passing yardage. He also finished with a career-best 410 yards on the ground on 83 attempts.

Houston has not re-signed Hyde, and Johnson – due to injuries – has not been the same performer since his monster year in 2016, when he totaled NFL highs in yards from scrimmage (2,118) and touchdowns (20). It would not be a shock to actually see Johnson (who’s made just five starts the past four seasons) be the main threat out of the backfield in 2020.