The Saints are kicking the tires on David Johnson. They haven’t actually signed him yet, but they’ve been looking at him – he was at their minicamp on Tuesday.
I don’t know that this will lead to anything. Johnson is 30, and he might simply not be a relevant player anymore. He’s older than LeVeon Bell. But the Saints are in the market for a backup running back, particularly with Alvin Kamara likely to be suspended by the league for multiple games after an assault that appeared the day before the Pro Bowl in Las Vegas – Kamara was arrested at the stadium after that game.
Johnson has been a great pass-catching back in the past, with four seasons averaging over 10 yards per reception (that’s tough for a running back). He’s been stuck on bad teams in Houston the last two years, but he caught 33 passes for 314 yards two years ago, averaging 9.5 yards per reception.
Over the last 10 years, 27 running backs have caught at least 200 passes. Johnson has averaged the most yards per catch of all of those guys – more than Austin Ekeler, Kamara, Christian McCaffrey and everyone else.
His best pass-catching season, however, is six years in the rearview mirror. He caught 80 passes for 879 yards and 4 TDs back in 2016.
| BACKS, YARDS PER CATCH (last 10 yrs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Rec | Yards | Avg | TD |
| David Johnson | 273 | 2,758 | 10.10 | 18 |
| Austin Ekeler | 282 | 2,726 | 9.67 | 24 |
| Kyle Juszczyk | 229 | 2,145 | 9.37 | 13 |
| Todd Gurley | 243 | 2,254 | 9.28 | 12 |
| Duke Johnson | 311 | 2,870 | 9.23 | 12 |
| Alvin Kamara | 373 | 3,263 | 8.75 | 20 |
| Danny Woodhead | 240 | 2,075 | 8.65 | 16 |
| James White | 381 | 3,278 | 8.60 | 25 |
| Darren Sproles | 321 | 2,730 | 8.50 | 14 |
| Christian McCaffrey | 357 | 3,015 | 8.45 | 17 |
| Shane Vereen | 221 | 1,865 | 8.44 | 11 |
| Chris Thompson | 232 | 1,918 | 8.27 | 11 |
| LeVeon Bell | 399 | 3,289 | 8.24 | 9 |
| Giovani Bernard | 365 | 2,990 | 8.19 | 14 |
| Matt Forte | 331 | 2,687 | 8.12 | 13 |
| Melvin Gordon | 284 | 2,244 | 7.90 | 14 |
| Theo Riddick | 290 | 2,281 | 7.87 | 14 |
| Ezekiel Elliott | 288 | 2,244 | 7.79 | 12 |
| LeSean McCoy | 352 | 2,683 | 7.62 | 11 |
| Devonta Freeman | 298 | 2,263 | 7.59 | 12 |
| Bilal Powell | 210 | 1,593 | 7.59 | 5 |
| Tarik Cohen | 209 | 1,575 | 7.54 | 9 |
| Lamar Miller | 211 | 1,571 | 7.45 | 8 |
| Nyheim Hines | 210 | 1,537 | 7.32 | 7 |
| Mark Ingram | 276 | 2,011 | 7.29 | 10 |
| Leonard Fournette | 239 | 1,696 | 7.10 | 4 |
| DeMarco Murray | 281 | 1,982 | 7.05 | 6 |
At this point, expectations should be modest. If the Saints were sold on Johnson, they would have signed him by now. They also no longer have a Drew Brees type quarterback; Jameis Winston doesn’t have the same ability to get the ball to running backs accurately and on time – he’s more of a downfield gunner.
But the Saints don’t have much at running back after Kamara. Mark Ingram is 32 years old and has been cast aside by two other teams. None of the other four backs on the roster were even originally drafted: Tony Jones, Devine Ozigbo, Dwayne Washington and Abram Smith. If Johnson’s going to work his way back into a relevant role, this is probably his best shot.
—Ian Allan