Duke Johnson is an NFL running back. Before making his way to the NFL, Johnson starred in his hometown of Miami as both a high school and collegiate prospect. He was considered the best running back in his high school class coming out of Miami Norland High School in Miami Gardens, Florida. After that, Johnson joined the lengthy lineage of great running backs to come from the University of Miami. Johnson cemented his legacy as the best collegiate back among them, becoming the school’s all-time leading rusher with 3,519 yards after three seasons as a Hurricane. He also posted a college target share of 14.8-percent, which ranks in the 93rd-percentile of running back prospects.
After those three seasons, Duke Johnson declared for the 2015 NFL Draft. He heard his name called by the Cleveland Browns with the 77th overall pick in the third round of the draft. Johnson was finally a pro, but never was entrusted with a full workload he’s capable of handling. He’s a proven commodity as a receiver; Johnson has five seasons under his belt with at least 40 receptions, three with at least 53, and set a career-high 74 receptions in 2017. However, Johnson has managed at least 100 carries once in his career despite a career 4.3 yards per carry average and his previous success in college. After four years in Cleveland, Johnson was traded to Houston, where he ran the ball a combined 160 times in two seasons. After two seasons there, Johnson toiled around on practice squads before finding his way back to his roots in Miami, this time as a Dolphin.
Maybe he just needs to be in the city of Miami, but Duke Johnson was finally entrusted with a hefty workload and delivered a spark to the Dolphins' running back room after a rash of injuries and COVID infections. In five games, Johnson put his 4.54 40-yard dash speed to good use. He handled 71 carries, rushing for 330 yards and three touchdowns. His true yards per carry of 4.6 ranked 14th at the running back position, albeit on a smaller sample size. In just five games, he ran 31 routes (6.2 per game), evaded 22 tackles (4.4 per game), and created 179 yards (35.8 per game). He only had one drop in the passing game. He finished Week 15 as the RB1(!) in fantasy football and the RB10 in Week 15. Johnson proved his value to the Dolphins, who needed a boost in their running game. Johnson signed a one-year $1.27 million contract with Buffalo in March 2022. He remains on the perpetual NFL roster bubble.
