Texans' David Johnson: Usage suggests third-down back

Johnson could be the Texans' third-down back, Aaron Reiss of The Athletic reports.

It would be foolish to make any definitive statements about the regular season based on a team's first preseason game, but when the first-team offense was on the field in Saturday's preseason opener, Johnson entered the game on third downs. His lone carry was a third-down run in the red zone. The early downs were handled by Phillip Lindsay. And none of this factors in the potential role of Mark Ingram, who did not play Saturday, which is treatment befitting a starting running back and suggests a role for him when the season starts. Johnson's role may not be so narrow as seen in Preseason Week 1, but he's not expected to carry the same load he did in 2020. Prior to Johnson's Week 9 concussion, he and Dallas' Ezekiel Elliott led the position in offensive snap percentage.