Running back, Northern Iowa, 2011–⁠14

David Johnson

Born
Dec 16, 1991

David Johnson played running back at Northern Iowa (2011–⁠14). The Arizona Cardinals took Johnson in round 3, No. 86 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft.

At a glance

Best season
199
Rushing yards, 2013 (Northern Iowa, 7–⁠5)
Drafted
No. 86
Round 3, 2015 NFL Draft (Arizona Cardinals)

Career highs

199rushing yards, career highat Iowa State, 20132rushing touchdowns, career highat Iowa State, 20136catches, career highat Iowa, 2012203receiving yards, career highat Iowa, 20142receiving touchdowns, career hightwice; last at Iowa State, 2013

Team titles: Missouri Valley Football champions, 2011

Rushing

Rushing yards, season by season, with his team’s record
SeasonTeamCarYdsAvgTDLong
2011*Northern Iowa10363.6115
2012*Northern Iowa24954.0112
2013Northern Iowa231998.7237
2014Northern Iowa31802.608
Career884104.7437

Receiving

SeasonTeamRecYdsAvgTDLong
2011*Northern Iowa28341.5180
2012*Northern Iowa1018418.4255
2013Northern Iowa44110.3229
2014Northern Iowa1027627.6170
Career2658422.5680

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. * That team-season’s player lines are missing part of the team’s yards in our source, so these numbers may be short.

Per play

SeasonTeamPlaysEPA/playPctileMedianTotalUsage
2013Northern Iowa (FCS)240.19––4.542%
2014Northern Iowa (FCS)46-0.08––-3.534%

Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.

Game by game

2014 Northern Iowa 2 games, 80 rushing yards
DateOpponentResultCarRush ydsRush TDRecRec ydsRec TD
Aug 30atIowaL 23–⁠311334052031
Sep 13vs.Hawai’iL 24–⁠27184605730

No box score in the source for Sep 20 vs. Northern Colorado; Sep 27 vs. Tennessee Tech; Oct 4 at Indiana State; Oct 11 at South Dakota; Oct 18 vs. South Dakota State; Oct 25 at Western Illinois; Nov 1 vs. Illinois State; Nov 8 vs. North Dakota State; Nov 15 at Southern Illinois; Nov 22 vs. Missouri State; Nov 30 vs. Stephen F. Austin; Dec 6 at Illinois State, so those games are not listed.

2013 Northern Iowa 1 game, 199 rushing yards, 2 TD
DateOpponentResultCarRush ydsRush TDRecRec ydsRec TD
Aug 31atIowa StateW 28–⁠202319924412

No box score in the source for Sep 7 vs. Drake; Sep 21 at Northern Colorado; Sep 28 vs. McNeese; Oct 5 at North Dakota State; Oct 12 vs. Southern Illinois; Oct 19 vs. South Dakota; Oct 26 at South Dakota State; Nov 2 at Illinois State; Nov 9 vs. Youngstown State; Nov 16 at Missouri State; Nov 23 vs. Western Illinois, so those games are not listed.

2012 Northern Iowa 2 games, 95 rushing yards, 1 TD
DateOpponentResultCarRush ydsRush TDRecRec ydsRec TD
Sep 1atWisconsinL 21–⁠26818041072
Sep 15atIowaL 16–⁠27167716770

No box score in the source for Sep 8 vs. Central State; Sep 22 at Youngstown State; Sep 29 vs. North Dakota State; Oct 13 at Southern Illinois; Oct 20 vs. South Dakota State; Oct 27 vs. Illinois State; Nov 3 at Western Illinois; Nov 10 at South Dakota; Nov 17 vs. Missouri State, so those games are not listed.

2011 Northern Iowa 1 game, 36 rushing yards, 1 TD
DateOpponentResultCarRush ydsRush TDRecRec ydsRec TD
Sep 3atIowa StateL 19–⁠20103612831

No box score in the source for Sep 10 at Stephen F. Austin; Sep 24 vs. Western Illinois; Oct 1 at Missouri State; Oct 8 vs. Indiana State; Oct 15 at South Dakota State; Oct 22 vs. Southern Illinois; Oct 29 at North Dakota State; Nov 5 vs. Youngstown State; Nov 13 vs. Southern Utah; Nov 19 at Illinois State; Dec 3 vs. Wofford, so those games are not listed.

Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.

Before the draft

Played in the 2015 Senior Bowl (South team, lost 13–⁠34).

DrillCombine 2015
Height6′0⅝″
Weight224 lb
Arm length31¼″
Hand size9⅝″
Wingspan76½″W
40-yard dash4.50 s
10-yard split1.57 sW
Vertical jump41½″
Broad jump10′7″
Bench press25 reps
3-cone drill6.82 s
20-yard shuttle4.27 s

Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Rosters and honors: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

In the NFL

8 seasons, 90 games with a stat; latest team: New Orleans Saints.

Pro Bowl: 2016 · First-team All-Pro (AP): 2016

All-Pro teams: AP first team 2016; AP second team 2016; Pro Football Writers first team 2016; Sporting News first team 2016.

SeasonTeamGCarYdsTDRecRec yds
2015Arizona Cardinals16125581836457
2016Arizona Cardinals162931,2391680879
2017Arizona Cardinals111230667
2018Arizona Cardinals16258940750446
2019Arizona Cardinals1294345236370
2020Houston Texans12147691633314
2021Houston Texans1367228032225
2022New Orleans Saints412240447
NFL career901,0074,071392772,805

Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0), matched to him by his draft pick and college (Player ids: DynastyProcess (GPL-3.0)). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat. Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams by NFL season: rosters and honors, Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

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