It’s A New World In Cleveland’s Running Back Room
Credit: Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports
As we inch closer and closer to the regular season, the Cleveland Browns roster is starting to take shape. To this point, it looks like Deshaun Watson will be fully healthy for the start of the season, but there are still a few major questions concerning Nick Chubb.
There hasn’t been much chatter on Chubb just yet, but from everything we know, it doesn’t feel like he will be ready for the start of the season. And truly, even if he is ready to come back at some point during the season, it’s not like he will be ready to take on his usual 20 carries per game workload like we’re used to seeing.
Remember, just six months ago Chubb went through a knee injury vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers that forced him into two separate surgeries. The good news is he’s had the same type of injury before in college, from which he fully recovered. The bad news, this is now the second time this has happened, which certainly increases the risk that he doesn’t fully recover.
To this point, we have seen video of Chubb running on air and even making small cuts, which is positive. But there are still a ton of checks for him to tick off before he is ready to even start taking contact. Chubb being willing to restructure his deal kept him in Cleveland, but there is still a chance the Browns’ running back depth chart looks completely different than we’re used to seeing in 2024.
A Telling Free Agency
If you’re looking for a smoking gun that signals that Chubb won’t be able to make a signficant impact in the first half of the year, look no further than the Browns signing D’Onta Foreman. Foreman, in theory, gives Cleveland an old-school running back to help fill the void, which Jerome Ford couldn’t do last year. Unfortunately, he has really only had one year of solid production in his career, and that was two seasons ago in Carolina, when he ran for 914 yards and five touchdowns. Not being particularly good as a receiver out of the backfield is another red flag.
Even though Foreman signed a minimal contract with just over a million dollars in value, Andrew Berry probably wouldn’t have unless he had to. Ford was certainly a disappointment last season, but if you’re Berry, you’re hoping that Foreman’s inability to follow up on his breakout was a result of only having a few games of work.
While this move will be bad for Ford’s development, it does give this team a chance to run the ball with more effectiveness than last season. Certainly, some of the injuries to the offensive line were a huge reason for last year’s decline, but so Ford was being nowhere near as good as some expected.
An Offensive Overhaul
On top of the injury to Chubb completely changing the running back room in 2024, you’ll also see a completely different offensive philosophy. Some will sit back and say that Kevin Stefanski would be silly to go away from the ground-and-pound game, but Cleveland promises to be a different offense next season. Between the pressure on Berry to get the Watson trade to “work”, and completely overhauling the offensive staff after making the playoffs in 2023, major changes are necessary.
That doesn’t mean that Chubb won’t fit into the picture when he comes back, but it does mean that you’ll see Watson in the shotgun far more often, and that you’ll see fewer true running plays and more screen passes or dump-off plays to help control the pass rush.
Additionally, someone like Nyheim Hines should have an opportunity for a much bigger role than many expect in 2024. He is the perfect fit for what this offense wants to do, and if he can come back even semi-healthy from his injury in 2022, he will have a major impact catching the ball out of the backfield. Hines has had more than 400 yards receiving in two separate seasons despite never having been a primary back for his team. He has the quickness to get separation in man-to-man coverage and get those extra yards after the catch that can be so valuable.
Some will be sad to even read that Chubb may have a reduced role in Cleveland moving forward, but unfortunately, that is the league we are in. The Browns have been top-five in running the football over the last few years and have just one playoff win to show for it.
While it’s extremely important to be able to get crucial first downs to milk the clock at the end of the game, the ground-and-pound strategy isn’t as effective as it used to be. If new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and Stefanski can find the perfect mix of pushing the ball down the field and running it when needed, this offense could be explosive even without Chubb as a primary target.
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