Browns have a problem at running back that needs to be addressed

Sometimes stats can be misleading. That's been true this season for the Cleveland Browns, who are currently third in the NFL in rushing yardage at 1,153 after eight games.

Their top runner has been Jerome Ford, who has a shot at 1,000-yards on the season. Ford currently has 425 yards and two touchdowns on 107 attempts — which gives him a respectable average of 4.0 yards per rush.

The problem is that much of his damage has come on a few long runs. Ford had a 69-yard run in Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers as well as one in Week 7 against the Colts. He also had a solid outing in Week 6 against the 49ers with a 22-yard run making up for some of the other short runs.

Just taking out those three runs (which total 160 yards) Ford would be at 265 yards on 104 attempts — which is an average of 2.54 yards per rush. And that's close to what he had in Week 9 as he went for 44 yards on 20 carries in the win over the Cardinals.

Ford's 2.2-yard average in that one was the fourth time in eight games that he was under three yards per attempt. That low output is why Next Gen Stats has him as the fourth-least efficient running back in the entire NFL. They also note that he spends too much time bouncing around in the backfield, with an average of 3.15 seconds behind the line of scrimmage.

Cleveland has been fortunate that Kareem Hunt is on the roster since he's been very good in short-yardage and goal-line situations. However, they need someone to challenge Ford — and that man should be Pierre Strong.

Added in a trade with New England ahead of the regular season, Strong has 152 yards on 34 attempts which is an average of 4.5 yards per attempt. He still has the same explosiveness as Ford in the open field and could provide a spark.

The Browns need to consider making this move because it's clear by now that Ford, despite the overall decent numbers, has been a problem for them.

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