Making a late season push for Rookie of the Year, the Northern Iowa running back made waves on offense.
Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson came in for an injured Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington and lit it up for the Cardinals to the tune of 442 yards on the ground, 658 total yards and scored five touchdowns. Johnson set himself up to be in the conversation for the NFL Rookie of the Year, although it may not be enough, even with 13 total touchdowns.
The Cardinals went 4-1 in the torrid stretch of offense that saw them blow out the Packers and the Eagles (and fall to the Seahawks). Ellington has been played sporadically and came in for Johnson after he was pulled from Sunday’s game when most of the starters were sat with the game out of reach and nothing much to play for with Carolina throttling Tampa Bay.
According to Darren Urban, Johnson is the third Arizona Cardinal in franchise history to earn Offensive Rookie of the Month honors. Anquan Boldin won the award twice in 2003 and Jake Plummer won the award in 1997. Urban also notes that three defensive players have won the award on the other side of the ball, Tyrann Mathieu, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Simeon Rice.
Even if Johnson doesn’t win the Rookie of the Year Award, he’s set a very high bar and shown what a weapon he can be in the receiving game and on the ground. If he can keep this up, he could prove invaluable for a long time for this team in the same way players like Matt Forte in Chicago and Reggie Bush in New Orleans were in their primes.
RB David Johnson only 3rd #AZCardinals player to earn NFL Offensive Rookie of Month honor https://t.co/rRQw05xjSu pic.twitter.com/Z7TynzisKN
— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) January 7, 2016
Before David Johnson only other Cards to win NFC Offensive Rookie of the Month: Anquan Boldin & Jake Plummer pic.twitter.com/m1cbqC6Kl0
— Mark Dalton (@CardsMarkD) January 7, 2016