Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson is a special talent, and head coach Bruce Arians knows it’s critical to keep the rookie actively involved.
Per the team’s official site, Arians plans to give the Northern Iowa product more touches each week.
Arians: [David Johnson] will have a bigger role each week. #AZvsCHI
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 21, 2015
Johnson took the opening kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown and later earned the first five carries of his NFL career on Sunday, scoring once more. That impressive outing followed Johnson’s debut in which he recorded a game-sealing 55-yard touchdown reception.
However, according to Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports 910, Arians stopped short of naming the 23-year-old the starter over veteran Chris Johnson while Andre Ellington is sidelined due to injury.
And that simply doesn’t make sense.
Though David might need additional time before coming the full-time starter no matter who is healthy, he’s already a bigger threat than Chris. CJ2K managed 72 yards on 20 carries, a meager 3.6-yard average.
Arians is smart to plan a steadily increasing for the rookie, but he’d be even smarter to immediately hand David the reins in the Arizona backfield.