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Cleveland Browns: How high are expectations for Duke Johnson?

By Kevin Parvizi

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As the Cleveland Browns continue to sour on Terrance West after benching him multiple times last season, the rest of us are left wondering as to how big of a role rookie Duke Johnson will have in the 2015 season. Both West and his more explosive rookie counterpart Isaiah Crowell flashed promise at times last season, but the Browns rushing attack as a whole was rather unimpressive with just 3.6 yards per carry, largely thanks to Ben Tate’s incompetence before being released.

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ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi reported that West is on “thin ice” due to maturity issues, and, sadly, that doesn’t seem to be a new development, but rather a recurring theme for the second-year Towson product. Crowell is, based on this piece from the Akron Beacon Journal’s excellent Nate Ulrich, unsurprisingly the favorite to start at running back for the Browns, but the most interesting nugget from that piece has been transcribed below.

"The Browns, though, are not relying on Johnson to become their starter right away. They would like him to eventually develop into the role, but they realize it might not happen immediately."

The player being referred to, of course, is Miami rookie Duke Johnson, who finished his career with the Hurricanes as the school’s leading rusher, ahead of some legendary names like Edgerrin James and Clinton Portis.

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Although the Browns aren’t counting on Johnson to start as a rookie with Crowell and West in the fold, they couldn’t have been overly impressed with either 2014 rookie, otherwise they wouldn’t have picked up a touted back like Johnson in the third round of a deep class at the position. Yes, they have big designs on his work as a pass-catcher after receiving a paltry combined 20 receptions from West and Crowell last year, but you don’t take third-down backs in the third-round of the draft when you are a team like the Browns and are picking in an, again, incredibly deep class at the position.

Backing up the notion that the Browns have something big planned for Johnson in the future is the following tweet from the NFL Network’s Albert Breer today.

So “big plans” isn’t something to be taken lightly, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are planning on him to be a feature back in his first season or anything, even if that’s a possibility due to the immediate expectations placed on rookie running backs with huge college production.

As of right now, Johnson is a bit behind the curve due to a hamstring injury, but credit to the Browns for not rushing him to get on the practice field, especially since RB is a position with a relatively easy rookie learning curve.

According to ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi, Browns head coach Mike Pettine had the following to say of Johnson.

"“It’s just disappointing that a guy we’re counting on being a big part of what we do, to lose him at this formative time of what we’re getting done … he’ll have a lot of catch-up work to do. There’s no substitute for getting live reps.”"

But as Breer reported, the Browns are being cautious with his hamstring, knowing full well that it isn’t wise to rush a running back to the field quickly from a lower-body, soft-tissue injury.

The Browns “big plans” for Johnson undoubtedly involve a big role in the passing game, and they’ll definitely feature a running back more prominently in the passing attack for a few reasons.

1. They finally have a back with the hands and explosiveness to pull it off.

2. Kyle Shanahan is gone.

3. Using West and Crowell sparingly in the passing game didn’t seem to work out for the Browns offense as a whole, and the Browns clearly need to take advantage of a potential playmaking element in Johnson.

4. They have a journeyman veteran in Josh McCown starting at quarterback.

Johnson’s hamstring injury situation is interesting, because it shows us two lines of thought from the Cleveland Browns that are worth diving into. Firstly, the Browns value Johnson enough to be as cautious as possible with an easy-to-aggravate injury.

Secondly, because the Browns value him so much, they aren’t rushing him back to the field despite his potential to make a big first-year impact, thus putting him potentially behind the curve. This second reason indicates that they could be willing to sacrifice his rookie impact and playing time a little bit to ensure that he’s a big part of the offense in his sophomore season and beyond.

Nov 23, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowell (34) scores a touchdown in the third quarter of their game against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome. The Browns won 26-24. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

So how high are expectations for Johnson? Long-term, you have to think that the Browns view him as a feature back, based on his draft status and offseason hype. He’s the type of all-purpose back who shows underrated toughness between the tackles that can make him both explosive and consistent, in addition to being well-rounded.

But Johnson’s short-term expectations from the organization are harder to measure. I have a feeling that they are hoping he can be the team’s most efficient rusher in about 100 carries or so, give the team an important spark in the passing game, and maybe make a couple of splash plays for this offense.

I don’t buy the fact that the Browns are overly concerned about Johnson’s missed time, since it’s not like transitioning to the Browns offense at RB is a huge enough task that it will prevent his talent from shining through. He is the team’s most talented RB right now, and Johnson should theoretically be their best RB as a rookie and would, in an ideal world, lead the team in touches. Those are my expectations for a guy who has already been impressive in pass protection and is the Browns quickest and most well-rounded RB.

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