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Cleveland Browns: Will Duke Johnson ‘start’?

By Kevin Parvizi

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The Cleveland Browns had two rookie running backs receive significant playing time last season as their top two rushers, and Isaiah Crowell finished with 694 yards from scrimmage to finish behind Towson rookie Terrance West‘s 794 yards from scrimmage. Wide receiver Andrew Hawkins, who is still the team’s best receiver until proven otherwise by Dwayne Bowe or someone else, led the Browns in yards from scrimmage last season, but the rookie running backs played a key role in the offense with either game manager Brian Hoyer or overwhelmed rookie Johnny Manziel taking snaps under center.

This year, the Browns added another first-year back, as they drafted Duke Johnson, who is Miami’s all-time leader in rushing yards. Johnson projects as a three-down back in the NFL, because he has pass-catching skills, change-of-pace back speed and elusiveness, and he’s much better at fighting for yards on runs up the middle than his height and agility (5’9″, but he weighs 207 pounds) would indicate.

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Johnson was one of the most touted backs in this year’s deep class, so the Browns had to spend the 77th overall pick (third round) to secure his services. That’s not a cheap price to pay for a running back in a class that also included Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon, T.J. Yeldon, and Ameer Abdullah (just to name four backs taken for him) and a host of sleepers like Baltimore’s Buck Allen.

But the Browns did land one of the best backs in the class, and it will be interesting to see how they intend to use him. He’ll have plenty of competition this upcoming season, as West was touted as a sleeper before being drafted and received plenty of playing time as a rookie. Meanwhile, Crowell has huge upside, and his cuts are incredibly quick and smooth.

Alex Mack‘s injury hurt the Browns quite a bit, but they didn’t run the ball as effectively as they should have. West could only muster 3.9 yards per carry, while Crowell had a mediocre 4.1 yards per carry and forced just nine missed tackles, per Pro Football Focus, with three fumbles. Although West was less efficient than Crowell and doesn’t have the one-time Georgia RB’s natural talent, he didn’t fumble the ball as often, had more carries, and forced nearly three times as many (25) missed tackles as his counterpart.

Snagging a back with significant pass-catching upside and third-down ability was important for the Browns, but I doubt the Browns took a guy with Johnson’s talent and spent a third-round pick on him to be a mere change-of-pace guy. He’s in a competition to start for the Browns, because he could feasibly be a noticeable upgrade over last year’s West-Crowell tandem in Cleveland’s backfield.

In fact, it has been Johnson, who might even have more raw ability than Crowell, who has been earning the most praise so far this offseason. It’s early, but it’s telling when a guy like ESPN’s Adam Caplan calls Johnson the “most impressive” running back on the Cleveland Browns. As expected, Caplan praised the Miami product’s “versatility and explosiveness”, which are two traits that Johnson has in spades; he’s also pretty darn well-rounded.

So is it fair to say that Johnson has the edge in the Browns running back battle? I’m not so sure yet, but we could see a rookie leading the Browns in snaps at the running back position for a second straight season. Although West has some pass-catching ability, I would be shocked if Johnson doesn’t prove to be the team’s best option on passing downs.

Kyle Shanahan never used his backs much in the passing game last year, but it’s still worth noting that West and Crowell had just 11 and 9 receptions apiece on 13 and 14 targets, respectively (that 64.3% catch rate for Crowell is not a good look, but West averaged about three yards less after the catch per reception and four yards less per reception overall at 9.7 vs. 5.8).

It’s unclear, however, if Duke Johnson will assert himself as a better blocker than West, who should hold that advantage in camp. But the Browns shouldn’t be worried about Johnson’s ability to hold up, because he’s extremely tough on inside runs and combines his explosive playmaking ability with good vision, fluid movement, and underrated strength.

Recently, the Akron Beacon Journal’s Nate Ulrich tweeted that the Browns have compared Johnson to Cincinnati Bengals explosive third-down RB Giovani Bernard, who has taken a backseat to second-year sensation Jeremy Hill. I think Johnson is less fast, explosive, and agile than Bernard, but he’s a more efficient and smarter rusher who is better on inside runs, though Bernard is also a tough guy in his own right (he just isn’t as good at creating yardage on those types of rushes).

Oct 4, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Miami Hurricanes running back Duke Johnson (8) prepares for a game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Johnson is a rising rookie in June, and while that counts for nothing, it’s still worth keeping the praise in mind, as well as his status as a third-round rookie RB and the fact that the Browns organization has been quick to hype him up.

It’s unclear how the carries will be split in the Browns backfield, but I have a feeling that Johnson will “get his” and lead the team in receptions, giving the Browns a true pass-catching threat out of the backfield for presumable Week 1 starter Josh McCown.

There most likely won’t be a real starter in the Browns backfield, so Johnson’s expected receptions and impact on passing downs could cause him to lead the team in touches, snaps, or both.

Crowell is a guy who needs to be monitored closely and West will get some deserved touches, but Johnson seems to have the most upside of all of Cleveland’s RBs.

I’m not surprised to hear that Johnson has been a standout at Browns practices early on, and I also wouldn’t bat an eye if he has a strong rookie season and asserts himself as the clear No. 1 in Cleveland’s backfield.

Next: Evaluating Browns QB situation

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