The Cleveland Browns will have a new look in the offensive backfield next season. No, number 24 is not going anywhere. Nick Chubb is still the best back in the NFL and will continue to churn out yards and touchdowns.
The question now is, who will spell him?
Kareem Hunt has been jettisoned and is still looking for a new home. D'Ernest Johnson took his talents to Jacksonville. That leaves the Browns with some unknown commodities to help keep a rushing attack near the top of the NFL as it has during the Chubb/Hunt era.
Who will churn yards out when Chubb sits? Who is going to be the receiver out of the backfield? Should Andrew Berry leave this backfield up to Chubb and company, or is a veteran needed? Let's look at what the Browns' current running back room brings to the table.
Jerome Ford to be Chubb's Backup?
The Browns took Jerome Ford in the fifth round of the 2022 draft. Ford spent his 2018-19 seasons in Alabama playing for the Crimson Tide. The problem was he only had 33 total touches over those two years.
He decided to leave the Crimson Tide and entered the transfer portal looking for a new home. He chose the Cincinnati Bearcats based on a great recruiting pitch that had the Bear Cats high on his list before choosing Alabama out of high school.
He definitely got his touches with Cincy. Over two seasons with the Bearcats Ford would put up some stellar numbers. In 288 rushing attempts, he totaled 1,802 yards averaging 6.25 yards per carry, scoring 27 touchdowns rushing. A bit of a concern with Ford is that he only caught 29 passes with one touchdown in that same timeframe. Can he be a third-down-receiving threat?
Ford spent most of his rookie season as the kickoff return specialist, with only eight carries all season. He shined in the role with 30 returns on the year, averaging 24.1 yards per return and a long run of 48. The Cleveland brain trust believes Ford can take that success and turn it into a significant role behind Nick Chubb next year. With no proven veteran back here or currently on the radar, we are going to find out if they are right.
John Kelly Jr. getting his chance with the Browns?
John Kelly Jr. is a four-year NFL veteran with only 32 carries in his entire career. He spent his first two seasons with the Rams after being drafted in the sixth round of the NFL draft.
The bulk of his carries were during his rookie campaign when Kelly Jr. rushed 27 times for 74 yards, a 2.7 yard per carry average. Kelly had only two receptions, but one did go for a touchdown. He only touched the ball three times in 2019 and then was waived on Sept. 4, 2020, only to be signed to the Browns' practice squad five days later. Kelly would spend the entire 2020 season on the practice squad.
The veteran back has spent the 2021 and 2022 campaigns with the Browns bouncing from the practice squad to the active roster, appearing in five games for Cleveland. Can anyone really think a breakout campaign is on the horizon?
Even his college numbers don't jump off the page. Kelly totaled 327 carries for 1,573 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Tennessee Volunteers. He did show the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield with 37 catches in his final collegiate season and 43 overall.
With a non-descript college career and multiple NFL seasons on and off NFL rosters, counting on Kelly Jr. to be anything but a special teams player may be foolish. What if injuries start to stack up in the backfield? Is John Kelly Jr. the back you want your season to hinge on? Let's hope we don't have to find out.
Demetric Felton Jr. can catch, but can he run?
Demetric Felton Jr. was taken by the Browns in 2021 out of UCLA with a sixth-round pick. He came to Cleveland after an explosive career running and catching the ball with UCLA.
As a Bruin, he garnered 342 touches over his four years gaining 2,059 yards and 15 touchdowns. That means that Felton averaged six yards per touch during his college career. One would expect that at just 5-9 and only 189 pounds Felton would have explosive speed.
He ran a 4.58 in the 40-yard dash so not the speed you would expect, but not slow. Most would probably have described Felton as football-fast, meaning he plays much faster on the field. The Browns drafted him hoping this would be the case.
Felton has spent two seasons in Cleveland and has yet to show some of that football-fast explosiveness that the Browns hoped for out of college. As a pro, he has only touched the ball 28 times, averaging 7.46 a touch. Most of those yards came during his rookie season through the air.
Last year, Felton was primarily used in a receiving role, but again had very few touches and seemed to disappear more as the year went on.
So far in his young career, Felton has yet to impress enough to consistently get touches, so it's hard to know from the outside if he is ready for a larger role. Unless a veteran back is signed soon, we will all be hoping that Felton or one of the other backs will step up and give Chubb the rest needed to keep him fresh all year.
Will Demetric Felton Jr. be the explosive player he was in college? Does he not have any touches because he has not shown that explosiveness? Another question that looks like it will be answered in 2023.
The Rest of the Bunch
Hassan Hall and Nate McCrary round out the Browns running back room. Hassan is an undrafted free agent signed this year. McCrary has been in the NFL for one season. With a wide open competition behind Chubb these two will have a chance to impress. While the most likely destination is the practice squad or waived anything can happen. lets taker a look at what they bring to the table.
Hall started his college career with the Louisville Cardinals amassing 3,843 all-purpose yards (1,299 rushing, 175 receiving, 2,369 kickoff return) and 13 touchdowns (11 rushing, two kickoff returns) from 2018-2021. He spent his 2022 season with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
He appeared in 12 games with six starts and amassed 900 all-purpose yards for the Yellow Jackets. Hall has shown to be a great kick returner, but never really put up huge numbers running or receiving during his college career. According to Jackson Caudell with FanNation Hall did impress some NFL scouts on his pro day.
"While he did not receive an invite to the 2023 NFL Combine, Hall made sure to put on a good showing for his pro day. He ran a sub 4.5 forty-yard dash, had a 37-inch vertical jump, which was the best among all participants that day, a 10-foot, 10-inch broad jump and he had 18 reps on the bench press. He left an impression that day among the NFL scouts that were in attendance. "JACKSON CAUDELL MAR 30, 2023
Hall has some speed and athletic traits that could allow him to make an impact at the NFL level, but he will likely need some time to develop. The most likely scenario for him to stick is if he can blow the coaches away on special teams. It's more likely that Hall will end up on the practice squad or in another NFL uniform next year.
Nate McCrary came to the Browns in January of this year as a free agent after being waived by the Baltimore Ravens. McCrary Spent his first NFL season bouncing between the Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, and Ravens practice squads.
He did appear in one game for the Ravens with one rushing attempt for negative one-yard. McCrary is likely a camp body unless he opens some of the coaching staff's eyes. At this point, he also would need to make the team via special teams but likely has an even longer way to go than Hall.
The offensive backfield will be an interesting area to keep an eye on in training camp, especially if the Browns do not add a veteran before then.