49ers fantasy football: Are any Niners one of these 10 potential draft busts?
By Peter Panacy
No. 5 Fantasy Football Bust to Avoid: RB David Johnson, Texans
This might be cheating a bit because fantasy owners would probably be wise to avoid any Texans offensive player whatsoever this season.
But if Houston’s “top” running back, David Johnson, winds up being the next available player on your big board, it might be best to look elsewhere unless you’re at the very end of your draft and already have two or three quality rushers on the roster.
Johnston’s ADP is 7.04, and he might be the beneficiary of first-year head coach David Culley’s offensive system, which is likely to feature heavy doses of the ground game in the wake of Deshaun Watson’s frustrations with the front office, his offseason absence and off-field legal challenges. After all, Culley helped make the Baltimore Ravens’ run-heavy offense a force the last two years before taking things over in Houston.
Yet the Texans offensive line is still terrible, there aren’t any receiving threats and veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor isn’t a prolific playmaker. Defenses will simply stack the box with eight defenders, so one would be foolish to think Johnson gets close to the 1,005 all-purpose yards and eight net touchdowns he had last year.
On top of all that, Culley and general manager Nick Caserio brought in a trio of veteran running backs — Mark Ingram, Phillip Lindsay and Rex Burkhead — who’ll take touches away from Johnson, too.
Unless you’re out of options, steer clear of Johnson altogether.