If Bill O'Brien and the Houston Texans hope to stay in playoff contention in 2020, they will need running back David Johnson and wide receiver Brandin Cooks to stay healthy.

Johnson missed essentially the entirety of the 2017 campaign after suffering a knee injury, and he dealt with injuries again in 2019 before losing the starting job and essentially prompting the Arizona Cardinals to trade for Kenyan Drake.

However, O'Brien is confident Johnson will enter the 2020 season in good shape for the Texans (via Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk):

“David Johnson passed his physical with flying colors,” O’Brien said, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “I’ve known [Cardinals General Manager] Steve Keim for a number of years. He was very emphatic that he passed his exit physical and we had a doctor close to [Texans team doctor Walter] Dr. Lowe examine David.”

O'Brien also downplayed Cooks' concussion history in assessing the newest member of the Texans (via Gantt):

“Yes, he’s had concussions but he’s only missed two games since 2015,” O’Brien said. “All of that was taken into account.”

The Texans acquired Johnson from the Cardinals in the jaw-dropping trade that sent DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona. O'Brien then traded a 2020 second-round pick to acquire Cooks from the Los Angeles Rams.

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Johnson might have passed his physicals with the Texans, but he has not been the same since the injury. The 28-year-old was named First Team All-Pro in 2017, but he averaged just 3.6 yards per carry in 2018 and totaled just 715 yards from scrimmage last season.

Cooks, meanwhile, has suffered five concussions in six seasons and had a tough season in the first year of a massive contract.

Both Johnson and Cooks have a history of being elite playmakers, but they will need to prove O'Brien right if he hopes to have staying power in Houston. The Texans face a put-up-or-shut-up season the next time they take the field. The margins figure to be smaller, and O'Brien needs maximum production from the players he leans on the most.