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
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, 2013Team titles: Missouri Valley Football champions, 2011
Rushing
| Season | Team | Car | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011* | Northern Iowa | 10 | 36 | 3.6 | 1 | 15 |
| 2012* | Northern Iowa | 24 | 95 | 4.0 | 1 | 12 |
| 2013 | Northern Iowa | 23 | 199 | 8.7 | 2 | 37 |
| 2014 | Northern Iowa | 31 | 80 | 2.6 | 0 | 8 |
| Career | 88 | 410 | 4.7 | 4 | 37 | |
Receiving
| Season | Team | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011* | Northern Iowa | 2 | 83 | 41.5 | 1 | 80 |
| 2012* | Northern Iowa | 10 | 184 | 18.4 | 2 | 55 |
| 2013 | Northern Iowa | 4 | 41 | 10.3 | 2 | 29 |
| 2014 | Northern Iowa | 10 | 276 | 27.6 | 1 | 70 |
| Career | 26 | 584 | 22.5 | 6 | 80 | |
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
| Season | Team | Plays | EPA/play | Pctile | Median | Total | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Northern Iowa (FCS) | 24 | 0.19 | – | – | 4.5 | 42% |
| 2014 | Northern Iowa (FCS) | 46 | -0.08 | – | – | -3.5 | 34% |
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
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Rush yds | Rush TD | Rec | Rec yds | Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30 | at | L 23–31 | 13 | 34 | 0 | 5 | 203 | 1 |
| Sep 13 | vs. | L 24–27 | 18 | 46 | 0 | 5 | 73 | 0 |
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
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Rush yds | Rush TD | Rec | Rec yds | Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | at | W 28–20 | 23 | 199 | 2 | 4 | 41 | 2 |
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
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Rush yds | Rush TD | Rec | Rec yds | Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | at | L 21–26 | 8 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 107 | 2 |
| Sep 15 | at | L 16–27 | 16 | 77 | 1 | 6 | 77 | 0 |
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
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Rush yds | Rush TD | Rec | Rec yds | Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | at | L 19–20 | 10 | 36 | 1 | 2 | 83 | 1 |
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).
| Drill | Combine 2015 |
|---|---|
| Height | 6′0⅝″ |
| Weight | 224 lb |
| Arm length | 31¼″ |
| Hand size | 9⅝″ |
| Wingspan | 76½″W |
| 40-yard dash | 4.50 s |
| 10-yard split | 1.57 sW |
| Vertical jump | 41½″ |
| Broad jump | 10′7″ |
| Bench press | 25 reps |
| 3-cone drill | 6.82 s |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.27 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.
| Season | Team | G | Car | Yds | TD | Rec | Rec yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Arizona Cardinals | 16 | 125 | 581 | 8 | 36 | 457 |
| 2016 | Arizona Cardinals | 16 | 293 | 1,239 | 16 | 80 | 879 |
| 2017 | Arizona Cardinals | 1 | 11 | 23 | 0 | 6 | 67 |
| 2018 | Arizona Cardinals | 16 | 258 | 940 | 7 | 50 | 446 |
| 2019 | Arizona Cardinals | 12 | 94 | 345 | 2 | 36 | 370 |
| 2020 | Houston Texans | 12 | 147 | 691 | 6 | 33 | 314 |
| 2021 | Houston Texans | 13 | 67 | 228 | 0 | 32 | 225 |
| 2022 | New Orleans Saints | 4 | 12 | 24 | 0 | 4 | 47 |
| NFL career | 90 | 1,007 | 4,071 | 39 | 277 | 2,805 | |
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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