Dodgeball: A true NFL underdog story starring David 'Glue Hands' Johnson
The NFL's best pass-catching back explains how he got his hands from playing the schoolyard game
By
Pete Prisco
•
6 min read
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Listen up, kids. When you report back to school, don't take those dodgeball games lightly. If your school still allows you to play, it just might help you make the NFL someday.
Sounds strange, right?
It certainly does, but Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson, one of the best dual-threat backs in the league, insists it was the competitive dodgeball he played as a kid that made him the pass catcher he is today.
Most runners have trouble even catching the ball the right way. Not Johnson. He has soft hands and he knows how to catch the football.
"He could start at wide receiver in the league," Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said.
Who knew catching that big purple ball in PE class could someday help make a player an NFL star?
"Playing dodgeball is where I learned to be an effective catcher of the ball," Johnson said last week during a break in training camp. "We went around Iowa (his home state) and played a lot of tournaments. I actually had the nickname "Glue Hands" because that's where I learned how to catch and to use my hands the right way."
Johnson led the NFL in yards from scrimmage last season with 2,118 yards, with 1,239 yards rushing and 879 yards receiving. He just missed out on becoming the third player in NFL history to join the "1,000-1,000 Club" -- reaching the number in both rushing and receiving yards.
The only two players who have accomplished the feat are former San Francisco 49ers great Roger Craig and Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk.
"I should have had it," Johnson said. "I messed up some routes where I should have reached it way earlier in the season. That (1,000-1,000) is ingrained in my head. My main goals are the team goals. But my personal goal is to get that. I have it written down. That's my No. 1 goal."
The way the Cardinals use Johnson makes it a reality. They split him out wide, put him the slot and run him from single-back formations with three-receivers, which creates a lot of room to run and allows him to create mismatches in the passing game.
That versatility is why Arians said he thinks Johnson can get 30 touches a game this season. That would be tough to do. He averaged 23.3 touches a game last season to rank third in the league. But 30 touches a game would mean 480 touches for the season, which would come close to the all-time single-season leader in touches for backs. That record is 492 by former Tampa Bay running back James Wilder in 1984. He had 405 carries that season.
There is no way Johnson gets close to that in terms of carries. The idea is to give him 20-22 carries and let him catch 8-10 passes a game. But even 22 carries a game would mean 352 carries.
"It's not 30 times up the middle," Arians said. "He's not getting hit 30 times a game. If he is, those passes are DBs tackling him. That's sandlot football."
"When you run an out cut 14 yards, and then step out of bounds, I don't count that as a touch," Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer said. "And he's smart about it. He knows when to get out of bounds. When you come out of the backfield to catch passes, you are usually getting by just one guy. It's different."
Even so, Johnson is prepared for the extra work if those touches do come. He's worked closely with a nutritionist. He's taken up yoga again for the first time since college and he's trimmed some weight. He reported at 229 pounds last year and he reported at 224 this season.
"I feel lighter, more energetic, more flexible," Johnson said. "I feel really good. I know now what it takes to recover from games."
He also talked with former San Diego Chargers great running back LaDainian Tomlinson about what it takes to last in the league. The No. 1 advice Tomlinson gave him: Stretch. The Cardinals have also installed a lot of innovative equipment to help players recover faster, and Johnson said he takes advantage of all of it.
We know the life expectancy of backs is short, but Johnson plans to buck that trend, which is why all the extra work has been a big part of his offseason.
It's also a big year from a money standpoint. He is entering his third season as a third-round pick, which means he can become an unrestricted free agent after the 2018 season. If he has another big year, the Cardinals will certainly give him that big-money extension. He is scheduled to make a base salary of $615,000 this season, which makes him the biggest bargain in the league.
"I can't thing about next year," he said. "I just have to take it day by day and everything will work out."
But for a negotiating tool, consider this: He says he's the best back in the NFL.
"I do consider myself the best back in the league and the best all-round back," Johnson said. "You have to believe that you are the best."
That's surprising to hear since he's such a humble kid. He was lightly recruited out of high school, wasn't considered a big NFL prospect until late in his Northern Iowa career and the Cardinals wanted Ameer Abdullah in that draft, but the Lions jumped in and ruined that chance.
They settled for Johnson, which is even comical to write now.
Sometimes the best moves are the ones you don't make. Johnson, Pittsburgh's Le'Veon Bell and Ezekiel Elliott of the Cowboys head into 2017 as the favorites to be the best back in the game. But Bell is holding out and Elliott could be facing a league suspension, while all Johnson does is get better and put his head down and work.
"They just don't make him like that," Palmer said pointing in Johnson's direction. "To be 230 pounds and run away from people. To be that smart. To be that good in protection. To have a jump cut that's as good as Le'Veon Bell's and close to as good as LaDainian (Tomlinson). To catch the ball with his hands predominantly, which you don't see with backs. To do all that at his size is impressive. There isn't anybody else like him."
And, to think, he might not be that player if it weren't for the simple game of dodgeball. Last year, Johnson played a dodgeball game with some kids for charity.
"I was rusty," he said.
He didn't last very long.
"I was out in the first two minutes," he said. "I got too excited and ran up and they got me. I was the only football player, so they all threw at me. I couldn't dodge them all and catch the others."
Glue Hands lost that night. But those hands and the ability to use them are what help make him one of the NFL's best running backs.
So run it inside for 25 or catch a pass for 25?
"Definitely an inside run," Johnson said. "My heart is in being a running back. My passion is playing running back, ground and pound, run the ball."
Maybe so, but it's those hands that make his potential to join the exclusive 1,000-1,000 club a real possibility in 2017.
