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Gage Bridgford takes a look back at the biggest busts at the running back position from the 2019 season from a fantasy football perspective.
The 2019-20 season saw some incredible fantasy performances from a few different players. We saw New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas put in one of the most consistent performances from wire-to-wire that we've ever seen. Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey had one of the greatest seasons we've ever seen by a running back, and he did all of it with backup quarterbacks.
However, for every success story, there are always people on the opposite end of the spectrum. Those are the guys that we're here to discuss today. These guys busted either due to injury, poor usage or some other reason which is unfortunate because they're all supremely talented players. 2020 will be a chance for them to rebound, but we have to acknowledge the failures that happened.
We've already covered the biggest busts at quarterback, wide receiver, and tight end from 2019. Now, here are the biggest busts at running back from the 2019 NFL season.
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Kerryon Johnson, Detroit Lions
Coming into the year, Johnson was being drafted in the first three rounds as an RB2. He put together a solid rookie season where he averaged over five yards per carry, but he never received a high amount of volume, which was expected to change for the 2019-20 season. That volume came somewhat during his sophomore campaign, but he wasn't able to do much with it.
In the seven full games that he played, he had 10 or more carries in each week, but he only had more than 50 rushing yards once. After getting 32 catches in 10 games during his rookie season, he only had 10 during his second campaign. He was being used, but he wasn't able to turn it into elite production that his fantasy owners were hoping for.
Heading into next year, Johnson's stock will likely take a hit for fantasy drafts, but, due to the severe lack of depth at the position, he will likely get drafted highly regardless. The talent is there, and it's undeniable. Unfortunately, injuries have been a major factor for him thus far, and he's also playing in an offense that doesn't go over the top to heavily feature him on a weekly basis.
David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals
I thought about saving him for last, but it was just too hard to not address it. In the vast majority of drafts, Johnson was getting drafted in the first round. After the top four, the next set of backs was Johnson, Todd Gurley of the Rams and Nick Chubb of the Browns, Johnson was playing in a high-paced offense that figured to get him a lot of touches, and it was expected that they were going to better utilize him in the passing game, which he showcased so well in the 2016 season where he racked up 80 catches.
Johnson started the year strong, but things began to tail off rather quickly. After getting 82 yards on the ground in Week 1, he would only top that mark once in the following 12 games. He was able to maintain some fantasy value in PPR formats for his ability to catch passes out of the backfield as he had six or more catches in four of the first six games. In the second half of the year, he was effectively benched in favor of Kenyan Drake, who was acquired shortly before the trade deadline. Johnson failed to reach 100 carries on the year, and he averaged just 3.7 yards per carry to go with just 36 receptions.
It's unclear where he's going to be playing next year. He carries a $16 million dead cap hit if they were to release him this year, and they aren't going to want to eat that. If they re-sign Drake, that will force their hand that Johnson is on the move, which is exactly what happened last year with quarterbacks Josh Rosen and Kyler Murray. Johnson still has a couple of good years left, but this was a bad year to have a bad season.
Sony Michel, New England Patriots
This was almost a different player, but I felt like the injury trend was becoming too played out. Instead, we're going with the Patriots running back that some predicted could lead the NFL in rushing touchdowns. He was tied for 14th with seven, which was the same as quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson. Michel's counting stats were very similar to his rookie season, but it's more disappointing when you look at how he got there.
He started 14 games during his second year after starting eight in his first season. He carried the ball 38 more times while gaining 19 fewer yards. His yards per carry average dropped almost a full yard from 4.5 to 3.7. Despite playing alongside quarterback Tom Brady, who had a struggling receiving corps combined with an elite defense that they could ride to wins by just running out the clock, he wasn't able to be a true bell-cow back.
The Patriots' running backs have always been players to avoid because of the number of players that they deploy in the backfield. This year, with Rex Burkhead, Brandon Bolden, and James White combining for 12 touchdowns, they vultured a lot of his value. It's going to be interesting to see how his fantasy value plays out next year. Unless something drastically changes in New England, White will remain the running back to own while Michel will be a bye-week fill-in option.
Dishonorable Mentions: James Conner (Pittsburgh Steelers), Le'Veon Bell (New York Jets)
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