Cleveland Browns claim running back Darius Jackson off waivers
By Thomas Moore
The Cleveland Browns made an interesting roster move on Wednesday by adding running back Darius Jackson off waivers from the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cleveland Browns made an interesting move on Wednesday, claiming running back Darius Jackson off of waivers from the Dallas Cowboys.
The team announced the move, along with the release of linebacker Corey Lemonier, on their website.
Jackson was drafted by the Cowboys in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft in a bit of a surprise move. The Cowboys had already selected running back Ezekiel Elliott in the first round and already had Darren McFadden, Alfred Morris and Lance Dunbar on the roster.
That crowded backfield led the Cowboys to keep Jackson on their practice squad for the first 13 weeks of the season before releasing him, but they saw something in him as did the Browns, who quickly picked him up from the waiver wire.
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The 6-foot and 220-pound Jackson didn’t do much in his first three seasons at Eastern Michigan, only rushing for 508 yards and three touchdowns in limited action, but made scouts take notice his senior year when he rushed for 1,088 yards and scored 16 total touchdowns. He also had 41 receptions for 349 yards his final two years.
He followed that up by displaying, according to his draft profile at NFL.com, “a rare combination of size, speed and explosiveness at his pro day. Posted a sub-4.4 40-yard dash with a vertical leap of 41 inches and a broad jump of 11-foot-1.”
Jackson is inexperienced in the ways of NFL running backs, however, according to Cowboys running backs coach Gary Brown.
“What he’s doing is he’s learning what it is to be a running back in the NFL,” Brown told dallasnews.com during training camp. “At Eastern Michigan, he was more of a shotgun back [lining up next to the quarterback] type guy, so he’s learning what it’s like to run out of the dot and he’s getting better [at lining up behind the quarterback].
“He can catch. I think that’s his [high school] baseball background. His hand-eye coordination is really good, so that’s another positive for him. When we watched his pro-day tape and watched him play, we knew he had hands.”
While Jackson is probably not a threat to take away playing time this season from incumbents Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson, the Browns could use his speed on special teams – especially as a returner on kickoffs, an area where Cleveland has struggled all season.
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Next season could be a different story, however, as Crowell will be a restricted free agent this season. If the Browns like what they see from Jackson in the time between now and the start of free agency, they may realize that they can easily live without the inconsistent Crowell.