The Cleveland Browns Will Lean Heavily on Trent Richardson, but He Can Handle It

The Cleveland Browns drafted running back Trent Richardson third overall ostensibly to make him the centerpiece of their offense in 2012 and beyond. While this is a huge responsibility for any rookie—especially a rookie running back—there's no better player the Browns could lean on right now.

Of any position in the NFL, running back is one of the easier to master in the first year. There is more to the position than "take the ball and run," but considering that's the main task of a running back, Richardson should have no trouble in that area of the game.

One of the biggest selling points about Richardson is his high degree of production last year at Alabama. It was his only year as a true starter, but he was extremely explosive, with 283 carries netting him 1,679 yards and 21 touchdowns and 29 receptions for 338 yards and three more scores.

While the fact that he only had that kind of success for one season may be reason to doubt that Richardson can re-create that magic in the NFL, it's actually a good thing that he had only one year as the dedicated starter.

Wear and tear on running backs is a very real thing—it's one of a number of reasons why teams are so wary of taking a back in the first round of the draft. However, Richardson doesn't have the miles on him that other backs have, making him more than capable of taking up a huge workload from day one without wearing down.

Cleveland's offense needs help—that's an indisputable fact. That's the reason why the Browns traded up one spot in the draft to make sure they could land Richardson. Richardson's 2011 track record spoke for itself, and while it also carries with it some serious rookie-year high expectations, there's no reason to believe he cannot meet them.

Richardson isn't the Browns' offense's only hope this year—they also took quarterback Brandon Weeden in the first round and he's likely to become their starter. But quarterbacks, even very good ones, take time to develop. Weeden's full potential and full impact won't be felt nor met in his first season, but the Browns need things to improve immediately.

That's what Richardson represents—an immediate improvement—while Weeden continues his progress. Richardson will make things easier for Weeden, not just by carrying the ball, but by also being a reliable receiver and a consistent pass blocker. It's hard to imagine any offensive snap in which Richardson is not on the field.

It's going to be a major workload, but one with which Richardson isn't unfamiliar. His main draw is his versatility and his ability to perform at a high level in every area a back is expected to master; no doubt that were he a member of any other team he'd still have as many responsibilities as he's going to with the Browns.

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