A Running Back to Target in Each Round of Your Fantasy Football Draft

David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals

ADP: 121 (10.09)

Whenever you get into a debate on the merits of Andre Ellington as a starting running back, inevitably you run into a discussion about his size.

Standing at 5'9" and 199 pounds, the question is whether or not his frame can handle a heavy workload. And given the slew of injuries he sustained last season, while these can be tied back to the pre-existing foot injury that he played through most of the season with, they also did nothing to quell these size and durability concerns.

So perhaps this is exactly why the Cardinals took Northern Iowa running back David Johnson. in the third round of this year's draft who, by all intents and purposes, is a bigger version of Ellington.

To Ellington's credit, he did have a fairly solid preseason debut, racking up 62 yards and a touchdown on just five touches on the first unit's lone drive. But the fact that he was already hampered by a hamstring injury at the start of camp also doesn't instill confidence that he'll be able to do this for the entire season.

An impressive combination of agility and size -- Johnson began his football career as a wideout and stands at an above-average 6' 1" and 222 pounds -- if and when Johnson gets the opportunity to see the field in a significant role, he'll be more than ready to showcase his talents.

This is thanks in large part to his on-field talents; in his final collegiate season, Johnson ran for 1,553 yards and 17 touchdowns and was a top performer in five out of the six NFL Combine events he participated in earlier this year.

In the meantime -- even if he doesn't take over Ellington's every-down back role right away -- as perhaps this draft class' most natural route runner and pass-catcher, Johnson will find himself with a healthy dose of touches in passing game, making him worthy of a roster spot as a high upside RB4 for your fantasy football squads this season.

He just needs to get healthy.