Cleveland Browns: Running back preview, projection

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Isaiah Crowell

Through his own hard work and the guidance of running backs coach Kirby Wilson, Crowell had the best year of his career. He rushed for 952 yards on just 198 carries and caught 40 passes for another 319 yards, giving him a total of 1,271 yards and seven touchdowns. That’s 5.3 yards per touch. The only reason Crowell didn’t surpass 1,000 yards on the ground and 1,500 total is he didn’t get the ball enough.

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The Browns did a better job of matching Crowell’s strengths to the offense. Heavy gap concepts, giving Crowell a designated hole to run through and then letting him be a play maker from there. Crowell still ends up occasionally tripping over his own feet, but it was better than in years past and he became more of an explosive threat.

Crowell’s development as a receiver has been a pleasant surprise for the Browns on offense and made Crowell more dangerous. Almost all of those yards were gained after the catch. In fact, he actually had more yards after the catch than he did total yards. Half of his catches were converted for first downs and he averaged eight yards per catch.

For Crowell to be a total back, he has to become an effective blocker in pass protection. To this point, that simply has not happened. Maybe this year he will add that to his game the way he did the receiving game last year. Beyond simply becoming a true three-down back, this will make Crowell far more valuable when he becomes a free agent after this season.

In training camp and the preseason, it will be worth seeing how many opportunities Crowell has to show he can be an effective blocker and someone the team can trust in that role during the regular season. There’s a very good chance this will be Crowell’s last year in Cleveland, but whether it’s for the Browns or someone else, becoming an effective pass protector in addition to continuing to be productive with the ball in his hands will make him far more valuable and more likely to get the contract he’s seeking.

Duke Johnson

If I had to place a bet and the Browns had to choose a back to retain from the current group, it would be Johnson. His complete skill set is more difficult to find in the NFL than anyone else. He can be an effective ball carrier, but he’s a huge mismatch as a receiving threat and an excellent pass protector.

Critics will point to the fact that Johnson had just 358 yards rushing and seems to come up limping a lot, even though he doesn’t actually stay out of the game. The rushing yards are a product, again, of touches. Johnson averaged 4.9 yards per carry, but only had 73 carries.

It’s far easier to see his threat as a receiver, where he was third on the team with receptions at 53 for 514 yards at 9.7 yards per reception. In just two seasons, Johnson has already caught 114 passes for 1,014 yards and two touchdowns. Add in his 737 rushing yards and you have a do-it-all back with 1,751 total yards at 6 yards per touch.

The goal for Johnson this year is to be fully realized. In order for that to happen, the Browns need to feel Johnson can take on the load of touches and for someone else to be able to handle pass blocking responsibilities. The latter seems far more important than the former. The hope is that player can be Dayes. If that proves to be the case, the Browns can give more carries to Johnson and split him out again as they did his rookie year, where he just tortured opposing defenders in space.

As far as training camp and the preseason go, the one area where Johnson can help his own cause is simply being more consistent as a ball carrier. Too often, Johnson has been feast or famine. He can break off some explosive runs, but then offsets that a little bit by too many runs that net nothing. He has tremendous talent for the position, but becoming more reliable to gain yardage on most every carry while still showing off that explosive ability would really show Johnson to be a star.