Duke Johnson's worth now

[Jason3123]

If you look at the list of RB's who have >100 catches and >500 rush yards their first 2 seasons combined since 2000, it's a helluva list.

LT, Domanick Williams, Rice, Shady, Duke, David Johnson, Freeman, Forte, Bush and Bell.

The only issue there is that Duke has the worst rush numbers by far. Only 169 carries, as opposed to Bush who's 9th on the list with 312. http://pfref.com/tiny/xGNZQ

[Cameron Giles]

Every week Hue comes out and says "We need to get Crowell more carries" or "We need to build around the run game." Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face. Since Cleveland consistently gets punched in face, the usage of Duke and Crowell is 100% gameflow.

The other side is that, Duke is a really good receiver out the backfield. He's actually playing 3% less snaps this season, but still on pace to match his receptions of last season (61). I think you could make the case that Cleveland should use him more when they're trailing, since their line is awful at pass blocking. You could make the case that he's underused in the passing game.

[Factory of Sadness]

You could also make the case that if you dressed him like Vegas Elvis and launched flares from his helmet, RG III still wouldn't see him open in the flat. I like both backs and think that in the unlikely event that Cleveland starts to run a joined up offense and adds some talent that they could both be useful. As a Browns fan it is the first that worries me more than the second in that I knew there was a talent shortfall - to say the least - but I didn't expect Hue's O to be such an incoherent mess.

[pvillebiker]

conspiracy theory: maybe Hue & Browns brass knew before the season start, they'd suck royally. therefore, develop your longer term RB (i.e. Duke) on lighter volume, thereby preserving him for when the rest of the team comes together, and let the other guy (Crow) run his guts out & take all the pounding & abuse for few years. It could be?

Then again, Hue always tried to keep Gio's load light too. Seemingly every time he started to raise it up, Gio would get injured. I remember that monster hit last year (Ravens I think?) that sidelined him for a while. Whether it's true or not, it seems like Hue thinks his pass-catching backs can't hold up to a large early down load. So it becomes self-fulfilling prophecy. Either that or he just likes having a clear separation of roles - an early down thumper & a lightly-used COP back. Hope this isn't Duke's situation, but very well could be. Next year should reveal which case it is!

[Jason3123]

If you don't think Crowell is a good RB you're not watching Browns play football and you're box score scouting. Can't blame you for not watching the Browns though.

[Crwdstunna]

I think that with more of an opportunity, Duke would be a much more impactful player.

[Plank]

Reviewing some of the Preseason games today and came across a couple of articles about former STL Rams Coach comparing Duke to the mold of Marshall Faulk, saying guys like this are like a Queen on the Chessboard ...

article:
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.s ... _of_a.html

[maxhyde]

ummm yeah...
maybe he meant Kevin Faulk?

[Friction]

I also saw Sean Payton say Kamara ran routes like Marshall Faulk too, blah.

[sugbear65]

And Colonel Sanders says he has the worlds best fried chicken. Hyperbole can be a hell of a thing.

[Reljac]

Ezekial Elliot said he wants to be more like Marshall Faulk in 2017!

[DinoDynasty]

Unless Trump Tweets it, its fake news.

[ninotoreS]

I think a much better -- and obviously more realistic -- comparison for Duke is Brian Westbrook. I love every inch of Duke's pro tape these last two seasons, he really jumps off of it, but... Faulk was otherworldly, needless to say. Duke may be broadly in that 'mold', but it's like a mold casting silver vs gold.

Anyway. Obviously just coach-speak, talking up the young man he's been coaching and training this offseason.

Hyperbole aside, the useful takeaway here is that we do need to start considering as plausible the possibility that Hue and Saunders are considering making Duke a true 'Darren Sproles on the Saints' type weapon that could push for 70-80 receptions to go with his 100 or so carries. There does seem to be targets between the hashmarks up for grabs in this year's Cleveland offense, particularly if Corey Coleman lets us down.

[Cameron Giles]

Duke is a very talented receiving back. If they're going to play him in the slot to keep him on the field longer, he could definitely push for 70+ receptions.

My thing is that even despite Duke producing as a receiver, he always seems to be hurt by gameflow.

[ninotoreS]

Yah. That's coaching error, though. Just gotta hope that'll change.