David Johnson Week 9 Outlook -

By Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros), Wed, Nov 4th 2020, 7:27am EST

Despite not having a 100-yard game on the ground and not topping 42 yards through the air, Johnson remains as the No. 18 running back in fantasy. The best trait is reliability at the running back position, and Johnson has delivered that. He's totaled at least 15 opportunities in every game, including at least 18 of them in each of his last four games. That should continue in Week 9, now fresh off his bye week, and against a Jaguars defense that's faced an average of 31.1 running back touches per game, which ranks top-six in the NFL. Even better, it's amounted to fantasy points, as they've allowed the seventh-most points per opportunity. They've allowed at least 11.5 PPR points on seven different occasions, which is the second-highest mark in the NFL. Why is that number significant? It's the average number it took to get into top-24 (RB2) territory last year. They've allowed nine different running backs to finish as the RB26 or better through just seven games, including three top-four performances. Johnson himself finished as the RB25 in Week 5, totaling a season-high 96 rushing yards in that game, though he didn't score, limiting his upside. That was one of just two games all year he finished with more than 3.1 yards per carry, and there should be plenty of scoring opportunities, as the Texans are projected for a robust 28.5 points. There have been three running backs who've scored multiple touchdowns against them. Start Johnson as a high-end RB2 this week.