Fantasy Football Podcast 2016 - David Johnson Interview, Draft Thoughts & Review

All right, it's the moment you've been waiting for. Let's talk to our very good friend. He is now. Soon to be. David Johnson and Arizona Cardinals. You talking to me? And now the fantasy footballers are thrilled to have on a favorite of the show, David Johnson. David, welcome to the show. How are you doing today? I'm doing good. Thanks for having me. It's a pleasure to have you. I guess before we get into all of the football goodness.

Congratulations are in order. Is that correct? Did you just get married? Yep, I did. I just did April 8th. Oh, that is fantastic. Congratulations. Hold on. Hold on. I'm sorry to break in here. April 8th. We share an anniversary, my friend. We share a wedding anniversary. I just got back from my 10th anniversary. So welcome to the party. That's spectacular news for me. I believe both of you went to Hawaii. You just got back from Hawaii. Yeah. Just missed each other. We went to Kauai, Hawaii.

Oh, tremendous. Well, we'll bring you back on the show in a decade when you're celebrating your 10-year anniversary. Yeah, okay. So as a guy who's, you're just one year removed from the madness of the draft, we all sat, us fantasy football nerds, we sat down, we're watching the NFL draft, just wanted to get a little bit of perspective from a person who lived it and the kind of craziness that is the draft. So I just wanted to start with what was kind of

the most surprising thing for you for that whole entire thing that you're going through. What was the most surprising thing? Probably the most surprising thing for me and throughout the draft was how detailed and critical every scout was of knowing about me and everything I, you know, been through growing up with. They knew like stuff from high school, stuff from middle school. They talked to all my high school, a lot of my high school.

teachers, coaches, a lot of my coaches from you and I, teachers from you and I, it was just so crazy that they know so much about every player, every single player that was going to the draft and they know every little thing about them. So they kind of know you better than you know yourself almost? For sure, yeah. So did you have any kind of an inkling of what team was going to draft you? Like how many teams did you feel like?

This team's really looking into me, and did you have any idea that the Cardinals were going to pick you up? Yeah, I had a few teams showing a lot of interests. The Cardinals were probably the number one for the period of time. And then, like, the Vikings, a lot of the Midwest teams Vikings in Chicago. And then the funny thing is with Arizona, they showed the most interest. They had a scout coming whenever they could, but one of the 30 visits that stay.

had after the draft and everything, Arizona ended up calling me and setting one up, and then about a week later, they ended up canceling it. So I was like, oh, they must have gave up on me or something. They want to tip their hat. So speaking of call, where were you when you got the draft call? I was in Florida, and where was that? Marco Island is where I was at.

And me and my wife now, we're actually not watching the draft. We were driving around, going to the mall, and doing, you know, just trying to keep myself busy, so I wasn't so stressed out and worried about the draft and everything going on with that. Oh, man, that is awesome. I'm sure that's what I would have done, too. I would have had to get out of there just for sanity's sake. For sure.

So getting over to football, what did you think for your rookie year? Obviously, you had one of the better rookie years in a long time. What were your hopes or what did you think you would end up doing in your rookie year? Did you see a world where you would do what you did? I've seen myself, like, talking to coaches a lot. They're talking to me about playing stuff with teams, mainly being like a hyper-depth guy for special teams and maybe getting on the field, depending on how.

well I do or how fast I would pick up the offense. So I think I was assuming for myself to help out special teams and maybe getting third downs, getting in the game. I never really saw myself. I mean, I hold and I saw my talent and I knew that I was going to be able to help out the team, but it being so impactful to the team, I guess I didn't really see myself doing that much.

help with the team. Yeah, did you know that you were the most effective goal line back in the NFL last year for anyone with more than 10 carries? No, I did not know that. Well, I want you to remember that.

This year every time that you're down on the goal line that you are the most effective running back in the NFL. Because I plan to have you on a couple of teams. So we are a fantasy football show. I'm curious if I could be so bold. There's a question out there that says, who should I draft this year for fantasy football between Todd Gurley and David Johnson? And I would say David Johnson. I hope that's not a homer in me. But why would you say David Johnson?

I think you definitely should pick me. Todd was a great player, but I feel like with me I'm able to produce on multiple phases of the game, obviously running the ball, catching the ball, and just being utilized so many different facets of the game in that way and getting guys' points in so many different ways. Yeah, I would agree with all that. I also think, obviously, the Cardinals' offense.

Way better, way better than the Rams. I will throw that one out there. You know, one of the things I always liked about you, David, is when you came in, one, you were very humble. And two, you had so much respect for the coaching staff. For BA, I saw you on interviews talking about how you just trust him to get the most out of players specifically to capitalize on what they are good at. So I'm curious, what has BA said to you about this upcoming year?

the ways that he expects to capitalize on your talents. What has he said to you on that? Obviously, he's saying that I have a lot of room to grow and get better on, especially past protection and just being, in general, just being a better back. But he's just saying, you know, if I continue to learn the offense to where it just comes more like second nature with blitz pickup and everything like that.

he'll continue to use me in any way that I'm capable of doing it, of being utilized in the offense with a kept me on the back field, being used as a receiver, and obviously running the ball. So it's kind of up to me on how well I continue to learn the offense, how well I continue to get better, and third down, being able to stick up with this. That's good. I was wanting to ask you, what would Carson Palmer say about...

your past protection. What would his words be? He would say that for a rookie I did pretty well, I believe. But obviously, I don't know what he would say, but if I were him, I would definitely say that being able to pick up the blitz is faster. Because him being such a great quarterback, he's able to read the defense to know exactly what's going on before the ball is even snaps. So he was able to actually tell me.

which guy was coming. He literally knows exactly which guy was going to come, even if they did show it at first. That's just him being able to watch film so much and being able to dissect these to hopefully, I think he would say, is me to where he wouldn't have to tell me exactly which guy that was coming. And then just being able to probably sustain the block longer, giving them a little bit longer time in the pocket.

Absolutely, and this is Andy here. Question for you with your backfield mate, Chris Johnson. How is your guy's relationship? I know he really wanted to come back to Arizona this offseason, and they got it done. What's your relationship with him been like? How has he helped you in your game? And, you know, what are you looking forward to this year with Chris? Oh, me and Chris are a really good teammates. He's taught me a lot, actually, with especially running the ball. He's a special effective runner.

His ability to be patient to be able to see the hole before the holes in there, especially on outside zones and the sprint runs. His ability to just set up the blocks. He's taught me very well on how to read my office of linemen because in college it's kind of so crazy to where I'm, I don't have to. I'm so fast trying to get to the hole and trying to run as hard as I can to get through the line to where.

He was able to teach me how to be more patient, being able to read my block, being able to set up, especially for the linebackers, O-line and tight-ins blocking the linebacks, being able to set them up to where it's easier for them to block the linebackers and makes it easier, essentially, for me to get through the hole.

So speaking of you and Chris, has Bruce given you any kind of inclination of what he expects from you for a workload? Speaking for us, for the fantasy game, we love guys who get a high volume of work, and I think you proved to Arizona towards the end of the year that you are able to do that. So has Bruce given you any kind of insight into that for next year? No, not at all. He's just telling me what I need to.

What I need to do, especially me personally on, like I said, learning the players and getting better and being a running back. Yeah, you know, it seemed the first half of last year when you were first in. You were brought in a lot on third downs, on passing plays, and very, you know, situationally brought in to kind of give Chris Johnson a break.

Do you expect that role to kind of flip now and have someone come in to give you the break and to be that main guy this coming year then? I don't know. I don't know what's going to happen this year. I'm just excited for our team in general how well we did last year. But obviously, hopefully we can make it to the Super Bowl and hopefully get in that ring. But I don't want to talk too far ahead. Just me personally, you know, getting better, getting excited and getting ready for the season.

So with that, have you played fantasy football yourself? I mean, I know it's very different because a lot of the guys that we've had on the show, you know, they've played in the NFL for a long time. And when they came in, you know, eight, nine, ten years ago, the fantasy football wasn't nearly the beast that it is now, but you're coming into the NFL in the fantasy football heyday. So have you played? How many teammates play? I don't know. I haven't played actually.

I never really got into fantasy football. So I don't, I mean, I can tell you. If you get into it, I highly recommend drafting yourself. You're very good at football. Thank you. Yeah, you're welcome. So we'll wrap this up here with a couple of goals. We like to always ask players, you know, what are their big goals? For you, you know, as a fan of the Cardinals, what would be your...

Personal goal for, I watched you wired up on some of the NFL films and you go out there and you were telling people, you know, you're getting 100 this game or you're getting 200 this game. It was great. What would be your personal goal, your hope for yourself this year, and then also what is your, what is your big goal for your career? Yeah. My personal goal definitely is to be able to play a full season. Obviously, last year, like you said, I came on a little late.

So hopefully being able to play full season, being able to help out the team for a full season, and getting better. And like I said, with the pass protection, it's probably my biggest thing that I definitely want to get better on, is being more dominant as a three-down, four, every-down back. So pass protection, coming out of the back field on routes, catching the ball, and obviously running the ball is one of my biggest thing. And then for a career, just being a...

having a healthy, you know, long career, whether that be, you know, 10 years. That's what I usually hear is that guys want to at least play 10 years in the NFL. And hopefully when I'm done playing, I'll be talked about being into the Hall of Fame or being talked about being one of the best rainbacks to ever play the game in, you know, all facets of the game, not just running the ball, but catching the ball and being a...

a past protector. So that's my main goal at the career. Absolutely. And, you know, longevity is such a hallmark of the great backs. And so I think it's an amazing goal. You're a big fan. We're big fans of yours. And fantasy owners are big fans. And we really appreciate you coming on the podcast. Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. All right. That was fun. That was a good time.