Dallas Cowboys: Time to make an offer for Duke Johnson

With the Cleveland Browns adding running back Kareem Hunt on Monday, the Dallas Cowboys should call John Dorsey about backup Duke Johnson

In a somewhat surprising move, the Cleveland Browns signed former Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt who was released after a video of him shoving and kicking a woman was leaked. With his arrival, there will be plenty of off-field questions for the Browns, but there are some on the field as well.

The main question is how they will split time with Hunt and Nick Chubb — once Hunt’s pending suspension is served that is. Potentially lost in the mix of featured backs is their change of pace running back Duke Johnson. That could be a good thing for the Dallas Cowboys who could use a player with Duke’s skill set.

Running back itself is a position of strength in Dallas as Ezekiel Elliott has led the NFL in rushing in two of his three seasons in the league. However, their backups were less than impressive last season — and they don’t really have a change of pace guy as Rod Smith offers another bruising style of runner.

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This is why making a call to Cleveland general manager John Dorsey makes a lot of sense. Dallas could use a player like Johnson, who is the polar opposite of Zeke and Smith.

Johnson excels outside the tackles, and especially as a receiver. He’s not a 20-touch a game player and actually had just 40 rushes in 2018. But he makes the most of those as he averaged five-yards per run.

While that’s a good player to use to spell Elliott, Johnson really stood out as a receiver. His best season was 2017 when he had 693 yards off 74 receptions. Even with his numbers down last year, he had 47 catches for 429 yards.

Just before this past season, Johnson signed a three-year extension, but his significant drop in touches suggests he may not be enough of a priority in their offense. Adding Kareem Hunt makes that even more likely.

This could play right into the Cowboys’ hands should they make an offer for a guy with the kind of speed that can lead to some big impact plays.