The NFL draft is less than a month away and now that Chris Johnson has signed with the NY Jets, the Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals as well as the New York Giants all could go after running backs in the draft, including prospects like Andre Williams, Tre Mason, Carlos Hyde, De'Anthony Thomas, Lache Seastrunk and Bishop Sankey could be targets.
Johnson signed a two year deal with the Jets and some other teams that could look at running back in the draft include the Pittsburgh Steelers, St. Louis Rams, Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills. According to ESPN.com, the Jets were the main team interested in Johnson and now that he is off the market, players like Ronnie Brown and Michael Bush are the top available names on the market
UPDATE: Chris Johnson has been signed by the Jets, this is from before that. UPDATE. Chris Johnson was released by the Tennessee Titans last week after six seasons with the franchise and now the free agent running back has interest from a number of teams, including the Miami Dolphins, Oakland Raiders, NY Jets, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots and St. Louis Rams, while the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns also could be options.
Johnson's release was not unexpected after the Titans hoped he would take a pay cut for this season since he was set to make $8 million, but the two sides could not come to an agreement. The Titans looked for potential trade options before offseason workouts started for the team, but they could not find a partner for a legit deal and he was released instead and now he can sign with another NFL franchise. According to ESPN.com, Tennessee was frustrated with Johnson's production over the past couple seasons and while he rushed for over 1,000 yards in every season he was with the Titans, he put up a career low 3.9 yards per carry and also had a long of just 30 yards in 2013.
Johnson was one of the most explosive backs in football for a time and he rushed for over 2,000 yards in his second season and he could never quite live up to that performance, which in a way is understandable since only six players have done that before in their first six seasons in the league. The Titans felt that Johnson's contract was not worth keeping him on the roster, especially after adding Dexter McCluster as a free agent to a backfield that already included Shonn Greene and the team is expected to pick at least one running back in the draft in May.
ESPN.com reported that four teams, including the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons, tried to work out a trade for him with the Titans. Johnson signed a four-year, $54 million contract after holding out with the Titans and now he will move on and Tennessee gets to save $4 million on the salary cap this season, while the other half sits in dead money. The Dallas Cowboys could be an option for Johnson, but their salary cap situation is tight, while the Giants already signed Rashad Jennings this offseason and also brought back Peyton Hillis on a deal.
The Eagles would have been an interesting option before the team added Darren Sproles in a trade, as they needed some depth behind LeSean McCoy with Bryce Brown and now Sproles has given Chip Kelly another option in the backfield. The Cardinals could be a fit after Rashard Mendenhall left and they are coming in with two young backs in Stepfan Taylor and Andre Ellington, while the Seattle Seahawks could be a sleeper option with Johnson as a backup for Marshawn Lynch. The Jets are an option to add Johnson after the trade interest, but the team doesn't have a ton of cap space and with 12 draft picks they easily could snag a running back or even two with a deep class of names like Carlos Hyde, Tre Mason, Lache Seastrunk, Jeremy Hill and De'Anthony Thomas coming out.