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Arians wants 30 touches per game from David Johnson

Kevin Hoffman / USA TODAY Sports

David Johnson was far and away the Arizona Cardinals best offensive player in 2016, but head coach Bruce Arians expects even more out of his All-Pro back.

Johnson averaged 23 touches per game in 2016 while piling up 2,118 yards from scrimmage and 20 total touchdowns, all of which were league highs. As the Cardinals look to return to being a championship contender, Arians is looking to lean heavily on his star running back.

"I want to have 30 touches out of him, if possible, because that’s going to be a lot of offense," Arians said Wednesday, according to ESPN's Josh Weinfuss. "When he has his hand on the ball, either as a wide receiver, coming out of the backfield, in the slot, and running, that’s a lot of potential offense for us."

Johnson emerged as an elite receiving threat in 2016 with 80 catches for 879 yards. Arians wants to keep Johnson fresh by continuing to balance his carries with his receptions.

"You go back and look, his number of carries wasn't that bad," Arians said. "His number of touches, because he’s such a dynamic pass receiver, I don’t want those to go down at all."

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