Cleveland Browns Must Be Cautious Not to Run Trent Richardson Into the Ground

Trent Richardson undoubtedly has the potential to be the Cleveland Browns' best running back since the days before Kevin Mack.

And as the No. 3 overall selection, Richardson is expected to be the feature of Cleveland's offense with an unproven quarterback under center. Therefore, it's also reasonable to suspect that the Browns will present a run-heavy attack to complement the passing game.

Despite Richardson's complete skill set—he is by far the best back coming out of college this season—the Browns should not overuse him. To learn why, let's check out Cleveland's schedule, Richardson's potential and the need for a dynamic offense.

Schedule

First off, we have the obvious divisional games against Cincinnati, Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Last season alone, all three finished ranked inside the top 10 against the run and pass, and held Cleveland to an average of 12.1 points per division contest.

Outside of the AFC North, the Browns see other stellar run defenses in Buffalo, Dallas and Philadelphia. In all these games, Richardson must be used early on but not so much that the defense is loading the box with eight players every down.

Always on first-down because it displays that Cleveland won't abandon the ground game and then in most short-yard situations. Play-action pass must be saved for second/third-and-medium and once inside the red zone.

Using Richardson too much in these games will simply wear him down and the Browns will punt more often than usual. Elsewhere on the schedule, Cleveland has an explosive offense in the Chargers and Giants, a sound defense in Kansas City and a near complete team in Denver.

Here, Cleveland can use Richardson a little more as these defenses aren't as dominant against the run, thus increasing vulnerability to play-action. Later on in these games is where Richardson can takeover.

Potential

Perhaps more than any of his other attributes, Trent Richardson's best aspect is his potential. For one, he's only be turning 21-years-old before this season, so there's a lot of room for developing as a complete NFL running back.

More impressive though, is his production at Alabama before taking over the No. 1 ball-carrier role in 2011. As a freshman and sophomore in 2009 and 2010, Richardson combined for over 1,800 total yards and scored 18 touchdowns during those two seasons.

He also returned 25 kickoffs for 634 yards, including one score in 2010. As a junior in 2011, Richardson exploded to another level with more than 2,000 total yards, 24 scores and was a Heisman Trophy finalist as well.

That kind of consistency as a backup and his dominance as a starter in the SEC is damn impressive. We also have to remember that five of the top 10 overall defenses in college football last season came from the SEC.

Include Richardson's upside for the Browns, and his potential has no limitations. That is, unless he gets overused, because the AFC North will stack the box against him, and his presence must also be utilized to create a more dynamic attack.

Offensive Dynamics

As important as it is to pound the rock between the tackles and control the game tempo, that can only truly happen with a dynamic strategy.

Richardson in the backfield opens up the playbook for Cleveland, because running the ball sets up the rest of the offense. And we're not just talking a normal balanced approach where there's roughly a 50-50 run-to-pass ratio.

That alone is a given. The Browns must start out by hitting Richardson between the tackles, but then gradually unfold the playbook. After some basic runs, use direct snaps with the quarterback in shotgun to quick-hit the defense up the middle.

Then, play-action becomes a threat from the shotgun formation and Richardson can freeze linebackers to get receivers open between the second-level zones. The next step is to use Richardson for additional pass protection and then delay a release as a check down target.

From here, Cleveland can widen a defense by putting him in motion and then adding change-of-pace back Brandon Jackson to the mix. A reliable third-down/utility player, Jackson is a sound complement to Richardson for keeping defenses off balance.

In short, the Browns have to be creative and yet simple to fully get the most out of Richardson without overusing him in 2012. Cleveland's offense has more potential than given credit for, but against a tough schedule the right approach to attack a defense must happen each week.

John Rozum on Twitter.