Even though the Arizona Cardinals are without Carson Palmer (concussion), David Johnson remains a must-start in fantasy football. That includes this Thursday when he faces the San Francisco 49ers.
Arizona will be relying on Drew Stanton as their starting quarterback with Palmer out. While that is a big hit to the passing game, Johnson should still have plenty of production on the ground and through the air.
Stanton is more likely to settle for check-downs to Johnson vs. airing it out down the field like Palmer does, so this injury could actually make Johnson produce even more.
Fantasy Impact: Yahoo! has Johnson ranked as the top running back in Week 5. He is going against a 49ers defense allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to running backs over the past three games.
Through four games, Johnson is the fourth-highest fantasy scorer among running backs. Start Johnson without any hesitation.