Is Miami RB Duke Johnson a Committee Back or the Next LeSean McCoy?

Later this week, the Miami Hurricanes will take the practice field for one of the last big pro days of the spring. A number of coveted draft prospects will be in attendance, among them young running back Duke Johnson.

Johnson's propensity for jump-cuts while running has evoked more than one comparison to LeSean McCoy of the Buffalo Bills. It's a heady compliment, to be sure, but where Johnson's stock in the 2015 NFL draft is concerned, it's also part of the problem.

According to NFL.com's Chase Goodbread, NFL Media analyst Bucky Brooks didn't hesitate to offer up Johnson as a name who made almost too much sense while discussing potential replacements for McCoy with the Philadelphia Eagles:

"Duke Johnson in my mind would probably be the best fit. He's a carbon copy of Shady McCoy stylistically, the way he runs inside and outside. He's outstanding as a receiver out of the backfield. He could make a seamless transition into that system because his skills are identical to those of Shady."

Watch tape of Johnson and it doesn't take long to see where Brooks is coming from.

Many of the same traits that have made McCoy so dangerous over the past six NFL seasons were apparent while Johnson was piling up the second-most career rushing yards in Hurricanes history the past three years.

The explosiveness through the hole. The agility in space. The quick hips and feet. The ability to hurt defenses as a receiver out of the backfield.

Check, check, check and most definitely check.

In fact, as Andrew Abramson of The Palm Beach Post reports, Johnson himself sees some Shady in his game.

"His quickness, his burst, his ability to move in the open field, receiving out of the backfield,” Johnson said.

The problem is that at 207 pounds (the same size as McCoy), Johnson's on the small side for an NFL tailback. As a matter of fact, at just 5'9" (two inches shorter than McCoy), Johnson is really on the small side for an NFL tailback.

And perhaps due to that lack of size, Johnson had a hard time staying healthy in Coral Gables. He suffered a fractured ankle two seasons ago, and while he didn't miss any games last year, he battled a number of nagging injuries.

Year	Att.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Rec.	Yards	TD
2012	139	947	6.8	10	27	221	1
2013	145	920	6.3	6	4	77	0
2014	242	1652	6.8	10	38	421	3

As Bleacher Report NFL Draft Analyst Brent Sobleski wrote, those durability issues become increasingly alarming when you consider that Johnson only carried the ball 526 times in three years with the 'Canes:

"

Comparisons to the Philadelphia Eagles' LeSean McCoy and the Kansas City Chiefs' Jamaal Charles will be cited to place Johnson in a favorable light due to their similar statures.

McCoy, though, showed during his time with the Pitt Panthers that he could be the team's primary runner and carry a heavy load. In his two seasons compared to Johnson's three in Miami, McCoy actually accumulated more carries.

"

As Lance Zierlein of NFL.com wrote, that isn't the only issue that can be traced (potentially) to Johnson's lack of bulk:

"

Average inside runner, where feel and instincts are concerned. Vision fails him at times when running between the tackles. Won't always see initial hole and will mash turbo button, hoping to power through to second level. At times unwilling to do dirty work in pass protection. Looks for cut blocks rather than squaring up and playing with technique and toughness. Tries to run to daylight once in open field rather than just finishing runs. Hampered by injuries in 2014 and broke his ankle in 2013. Medicals will be combed over. Must improve ball security after fumbling six times over last two seasons.

"

Those reservations, in turn, have led many to theorize that he might be best served playing a complementary role in the NFL, a la Giovani Bernard of the Cincinnati Bengals.

And frankly, not many minds are going to be changed in that regard simply because Johnson is participating in a few drills later this week.

There are still going to be plenty of scouts (as Brooks pointed out) who think Johnson, like McCoy and Jamaal Charles, has the ability to perform as a "featured" back in the NFL:

There will also be plenty of folks who will point to Johnson's past two years as an indicator that he'd likely break down under a 350-plus-touch workload, especially in an age when fewer and fewer NFL backs hit that benchmark each year.

We'll know, to a point at least, how the NFL really feels about Johnson come April 30. If, as Bleacher Report NFL National Lead Writer Matt Miller proposed last week, the Indianapolis Colts were to make Johnson the 29th overall pick in this year's draft, that would certainly appear to indicate a healthy amount of confidence in his ability to be a key offensive contributor.

Conversely, if we're still talking about Johnson's availability into the third round on May 1, then that would lend credence to the concerns about his durability, and the belief that his new team views him more as a piece in the backfield than the piece.

Of course, even if that's the case, Johnson will still have a summer to prove that team wrong and to dazzle in the backfield so that whoever drafts him will have to give him the rock.

You know, just like Charles and McCoy did.

Gary Davenport is an NFL Analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter at @IDPManor.