RB Duke Johnson Jr - Houston Texans

5-9, 207

Born: 9-23-1993

College: Miami

Drafted: Round 3, pick 2015

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Photo: Ken Blaze, US Presswire

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News you need to know

From the upgrade/downgrade report (Mon Dec 2): Johnson's usage is too inconsistent to trust as more than a PPR flex, but at least he flashed his ceiling against the Patriots. He'll be worth a look in deeper leagues against Denver.

Week 14: vs Denver Broncos

All RB vs DEN

FBG says: Neutral matchup. The Texans rushing offense has been a top tier group for most of this season, ranking seventh in the league with 129.8 rushing yards per game. Last week, however, was one of their worst showings of the season as Carlos Hyde was held to just 17 yards from 10 attempts while Duke Johnson gained 36 rushing yards from nine attempts. The workload split between Hyde and Johnson was as close as it has been this year, but that mainly came from a pass-heavy game script with the Texans trying to keep up with New England. Hyde has dominated this backfield all year, averaging 4.6 yards per rush attempt and a steady 71.1 rushing yards per game. While last week was his worst game of the season, Hyde will continue to give this Texans backfield the best chance at success as he has shown the ability to shoulder the majority of this workload with relative ease and a high ceiling. Johnson has yet to see double-digit carries or more than 60 rushing yards this season, so his upside will remain limited barring a Hyde injury. Deshaun Watson has been quiet on the ground in recent weeks with fewer than 15 rushing yards in three straight games after exceeding 30 rushing yards in five straight outings from Week 5 to Week 9. Denver's defense has been pretty strong against the run for most of this season, allowing an opposing running back to exceed 85 yards just three times. However, two of those games came within the past two weeks as Devin Singletary ran for 106 while Melvin Gordon put up 99 rushing yards last week. Injuries have played a part in their recent lapses against the run, with interior lineman Shelby Harris getting banged up in Week 12 and Von Miller actually missing last week's game with a knee injury. Harris is back on the field, but Miller's status will be worth watching in case he also has to miss this week. If this group can field its entire starting front seven, they should match up well against most rushing offenses in football as they are stacked with talent--notably, linebacker A.J. Johnson who has been playing very well and had another couple of tackles for losses on running plays last week. Looking at quarterbacks, this defense did give up 56 rushing yards to Josh Allen two weeks ago and 34 rushing yards to Jacoby Brissett in Week 8. However, they have played pretty well against other mobile quarterbacks such as Marcus Mariota, Patrick Mahomes, and Aaron Rodgers earlier in the season, and no quarterback has scored a touchdown on this defense to date.

Recent Stats and Projections

WEEK	OPP		oSNAP	RSH	YD	TD	TARG	REC	YD	TD	FumL	Pts
11	at BAL		36	6	40	0	2	2.0	4	0	0	4.4
12	vs IND		30	5	22	0	1	1.0	8	0	0	3
13	vs NE		38	9	36	0	6	5.0	54	1	0	15
14	vs DEN	PROJ-Dodds	*	8	*	*		2.9	*	*	*	*
14	vs DEN	PROJ-Tremblay	*	7	*	*		2.8	*	*	*	*
14	vs DEN	PROJ-Bloom	*	6	*	*		3.0	*	*	*	*

Weekly Performance vs RB 1, RB 12, RB 24, RB 36

Percentile ranks

Duke Johnson Jr's percentile rank in each category, among RB with more than 50 fantasy points.

Recent Game Summaries

2019 Week 13 vs NE (9 / 36 / 0 rush, 6 / 5 / 54 / 1 rec)

When Duke Johnson is on the field and getting touches, especially in the passing game, good things happen for the offense. He started the scoring for the Texans when they got him singled up on a Patriots linebacker for a 15-yard touchdown pass from Watson on an easy out route. Johnson waltzed into the end zone untouched, and then he was able to catch four more passes for 39 yards. Then lead the Texans in rushing with 36 yards with his longest run being 13-yards against the Patriots stout rushing defense.

2019 Week 11 vs BAL (6 / 40 / 0 rush, 2 / 2 / 4 / 0 rec)

Johnson had the most success as a runner rushing for 40 yards and catching two passes for four yards. Johnson continues to have success running the football and, more importantly, get touches as a runner making defenders miss.

2019 Week 9 vs JAX (7 / 13 / 1 rush, 5 / 5 / 68 / 0 rec)

It was the first time in a while that a running back led the Texans offense in receiving, and that is what Duke Johnson did on Sunday. Johnson made some strong catches downfield, and his longest reception was for 21 yards. Johnson was also able to get into the endzone on a one-yard run, where he trucked a cornerback to get the touchdown. Johnson continues to lead the Texans in touches per game outside of Hyde. The production remains steady with Johnson in the offense.

2019 Week 8 vs OAK (3 / 1 / 0 rush, 5 / 4 / 33 / 1 rec)

The touches keep coming for Duke Johnson, and he started the scoring off for the Texans when he caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Watson beating a linebacker out of the backfield inside the red zone. Johnson had a similar play earlier in the year that Watson missed him on but was able to hit him at this time. Johnson also rushed the ball for 46 yards with his longest run being 12 yards, and he also had 33 yards in the passing game. Johnson is being used much more as the season goes on, and part of it is that O'Brien is becoming comfortable with Johnson's skill set.

2019 Week 7 vs IND (7 / 34 / 0 rush, 5 / 2 / 22 / 0 rec)

With the Colts defense causing all types of issues for the Texans offense, O'Brien opted to use and give Duke Johnson more touches in the offense. He was able to rush for 34 yards and catch two passes fro 22 yards. Johnson's usage and touches went up this week but part of that was due to the Colts scheming to shut down the run and Carlos Hyde at all costs.

2019 Week 6 vs KC (5 / 34 / 0 rush, 4 / 2 / 20 / 1 rec)

The Texans continued to find a way to get Johnson involved in the offense and were able to get him his first touchdown of the season. Watson hit Johnson on an 11-yard touchdown reception versus a linebacker. The Texans tried to exploit Johnson against the Chiefs linebacker all game, and he almost had another touchdown reception but was stopped short on a 9-yard reception. Johnson has been positive in the running game and had 34-yards rushing with his longest being 15-yards.

2019 Week 5 vs ATL (9 / 59 / 0 rush, 1 / 1 / 8 / 0 rec)

The Texans are still finding ways to work in Duke Johnson not the offense. Johnson had a 24-yard rush and was able to get 59 total yards on the ground. Johnson only had one catch the entire game for 8 yards but his presence on the field opens up so much for the passing game with defenses having to account for him. The touches for Johnson have not been there but part of the issue is due to others in the offense getting touches at a higher rate.

2019 Week 4 vs CAR (6 / 56 / 0 rush, 3 / 2 / 22 / 0 rec)

The Texans are trying to find ways to get Duke Johnson the football and right now he is their best back on the field. He had a season-long rush of 40-yards where he beat one defender and was off to the races to get the offense into the red zone. Johnson also had two receptions with his longest being 12-yards. The one thing that Johnson has going for him is his ability to make defenders miss when he has the football in his hands.

2019 Week 3 vs LAC (2 / 2 / 0 rush, 3 / 2 / 22 / 0 rec)

The Texans are still trying to find ways to get Duke Johnson involved in the offense but with so many skill players around him, his touches will be limited. Johnson had two carries for only two yards and two receptions for 22 yards. His best catch of the day came when Watson saw the blitz and hit Johnson in the flats allowing him to make defenders miss for a 15 yard gain.

2019 Week 2 vs JAX (6 / 31 / 0 rush, 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 rec)

It was a slow day for Duke Johnson, and he was only targeted one time in the passing game. His best run came on a 3rd and long call where Johnson had a 19-yard run that saw him use a spin move and break a tackle. Outside of that run, Johnson was a non-factor for the offense.

2019 Week 1 vs NO (9 / 57 / 0 rush, 5 / 4 / 33 / 0 rec)

It was also a productive day for Duke Johnson who put up 13 total touches for the offense and 90 total yards. His longest play was a 32-yard rush that saw him break a tackle in open field to go get more yards. His pass catching ability remains his best assist and he was second on the offense in targets only behind Deandre Hopkins.

Latest News

Texans | Duke Johnson totals 90 yards in Week 13 (Mon Dec 2, 02:03 AM) - Houston Texans RB Duke Johnson carried nine times for 36 yards and hauled in five of his six targets for 54 more yards and a touchdown in Week 13 against the New England Patriots.

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