The Cleveland Browns will be aiming to get the most out of all of their players this season as they lack guaranteed stars on the roster. Head coach Mike Pettine will be operating an offense by committee after losing players like Josh Gordon who was the No.1 receiving threat before he was suspended. As a result, certain players will be doing more than what their position dictates as Duke Johnson can expect to be both a rusher and receiver.
The Browns drafted Johnson despite having grabbed Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West last season. While their running back rotation is very young, it could also be very versatile as Johnson resembles a Darren Sproles type of running back. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Johnson has been working out of the backfield catching passes which could become his primary role this season. This was the norm for him in college as Johnson recorded 642 yards off 65 catches in two seasons with the Miami Hurricanes. He is expected to do much of the same with the Browns.
"We're hoping all our backs can be receivers out of the backfield and run routes," running back coach Wilbert Montgomery said, via the Plain Dealer. "That's a huge key. Running routes and catching the ball out of the backfield gives you another dimension to the team. When a team knows you're not going to throw the ball to the running back they don't pay attention to them."
West has never been much of a pass-catching running back which could hurt the amount of field time he sees in 2015. According to NFL.com, Crowell is expected to earn the starting running back spot while Johnson steps in for certain packages. This could push West out of the mix if he fails to impress early. According to John Clayton of ESPN, the Browns are a predicted landing spot for Ray Rice. The improvement of West could determine just how true that really is.
The run game will be essential for how the quarterback play is. Josh McCown is the starter for the 2015 season, but he is certainly no home run guarantee. According to quarterback coach Kevin O'Connell, Johnny Manziel could still earn the starting spot. The team is certainly not ruling out of the second-year pro seeing field time this season. O'Connell believes Manziel will reach his full potential soon.
"We're still talking about a guy that's in his second year now," O'Connell said, via Cleveland.com. "Having been through it, obviously, getting some starts last year will help him. But I can tell you from the first time I met Johnny until now, I still see the same competitive guy that comes into work every day to get better and that's all we can really ask of him right now and he's really responded to what we have asked of him."