The Cleveland Browns Running Backs Are Ready To Take Center Stage
With the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns select Saquon Barkley from Penn State University. Not so fast. Those were the words many Browns’ fans expected and wanted to hear. But the Browns went with Baker Mayfield instead. Barkley would go to the New York Giants with the No. 2 pick and fans had to think it’s happening all over again.
There should be no way the Browns’ brass could possibly screw up drafting a player many selected as the best player in the 2018 NFL Draft. This was not a Cody Kessler, DeShone Kizer, Trent Richardson, or Johnny Manziel type of situation. Barkley is the real deal. And with the Browns stacked at the running back position, Barkley was still the right choice. At least we thought so.
[MarkAds]In 2017, the Browns rushing attack was led by Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson. The Browns would finish 18th in the NFL in rushing with 1714 yards with an average of 107.1 per game to go along with 11 touchdowns. This is why drafting Barkley seemed so important. The Browns running backs averaged 4.5 yards per carry, but the recent retirement of Joe Thomas may put a dent in those numbers — or maybe not.
The Browns were seemingly set with Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson. But then the Browns pulled off what may turn out to be the steal of the draft when they selected Nick Chubb from Georgia in the second round. At first glance, it looked to be a consolation prize, but dig deeper and you will see that Chubb is exactly what the Browns needed.
While Barkley was the talk of the draft, Chubb will be the envy of everyone who passed in him. The trio doesn’t seem all that terrifying, but a close look reveals that each player will bring something different to the table. Chubb will provide the speed between the tackles and the outside as he did with Georgia where he gained 4769 yards on 758 attempts and 44 touchdowns with an average of 6.3 yards per rush, according to Sports Reference.
In 2017, Hyde gained 938 yards and eight touchdowns with an average of 3.9 yards per carry. Hyde will give the Browns their power option. Then, the Browns can shake things up with Johnson. While he’s not the 20-plus-per-carry type of back, he’s best suited to catch the ball out of the backfield. In 2017, Johnson caught 74 passes for 693 yards and three touchdowns. Will it be enough carries to go around?
Will The Cleveland Browns Have The Best Rushing Attack In The NFL?
Name another team that poses the same threat on the ground the Browns will have in 2018. What the Browns can possibly have is what helped the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl this past season. LeGarrette Blunt, much like Hyde, was the power back. Jay Ajayi, much like Chubb, was the shifty runner, and Johnson, much like Corey Clement, was the receiving back. Paired together, the Cleveland Browns could be unstoppable on the ground.
If Taylor, Landry, and Josh Gordon can get their chemistry down, that will open the door for the ground game to explode. For the first time in a while, the Browns are legit.
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Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
