Cleveland Browns: Full Position Breakdown, Depth Chart Analysis at Running Back

The Cleveland Browns offense promises to be a run-heavy one this year, so having an understanding of the backs most likely to carry the load is important this offseason. Like in 2014, more than one back will be getting touches for the Browns, but this year, the committee has expanded from two to three.

Second-year running backs Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell will again be main focuses of the run game, along with rookie Duke Johnson. The division of labor is something that has yet to play out, with OTAs wrapping and mandatory minicamp and training camp ahead. For now, Crowell is the team's No. 1 back, according to ESPNCleveland.com's Tony Grossi.

Crowell didn't lead the Browns in carries or yards last year, but he was the team's best-performing back. On just 148 carries, he totaled 607 yards and eight scores, leading the team in rushing touchdowns as well as yards per carry with 4.1. He did, however, fumble the ball away three times, something that Crowell will have to limit in 2015 with the Browns counting on him even more heavily.

Player	W/in Own 20-YPC	Own 21-50-YPC	Opp. 49-20-YPC	Opp. 19-Goal-YPC
Crowell	4.6	3.8	3.6	5.6
West	4.3	4.6	3.7	2.4

A powerful downhill runner, it's no surprise that Crowell helped the Browns improve their rushing touchdown total from just four in 2013 to 17 in 2014. But he needs to be more consistent in the middle of the field. Though Crowell averaged 4.6 yards per carry in the Browns' 1-20 yard lines, he averaged only 3.8 yards per carry on the Browns' 21-50 yard lines and 3.6 yards per carry on opponents' 49-20 yard lines last year.

Meanwhile, West fared better in the areas of the field Crowell did not, but as such, he did not make as much of a scoring impact, with just four rushing touchdowns last year. He led the Browns in carries, though, with 171 rushes totaling 673 yards while losing only one fumble on the season.

Still, West has some growing up to do—he admitted to Grossi that he was in head coach Mike Pettine's doghouse on occasion as a rookie and was benched for the team's penultimate regular-season game in vague circumstances.

Last year, West beat out Ben Tate to be the Browns' starting back, though the undrafted Crowell was considered to be the all-around better player. This year, it doesn't look likely that West will be atop the Browns' running back depth chart come Week 1.

That doesn't mean he'll be spending much of the season on the bench, but rather that he may not be the dynamo the Browns saw him as when they drafted him in Round 3 last year. 

Plus, it won't be just Crowell pushing him, but also the rookie Johnson. Though new to the Browns offense, Johnson is already turning heads in OTAs and rookie minicamp. In speaking with Andrew Gribble of the Browns' official website, Johnson said, "I'm a change-of-pace back. I can line up anywhere. I'm looking forward to the different ways they use me as a receiver or the backfield. Whatever it takes."

The Browns are also testing out Johnson's chops as a punt and kick returner, as well as a protector on punt returns, just to see what he's capable of. In college at Miami, Johnson did it all—carry, catch, return, block—and the Browns are hoping he can succeed at these multiple roles in the NFL.

Johnson's ability to catch passes, in particular, will make him a useful weapon on third downs and could see him work in a slot receiver role similar to that of Pittsburgh Steelers back Le'Veon Bell.

Again, it's hard to predict the division of labor between the backs this early on in the process, but the more Johnson can do, the less work both Crowell and West will get. And it's possible that Johnson could cut into the playing times of other skill position players, as well.

Player	Atts.	Yds.	YPC	Rush TD	YPG	Fum.
West	171	673	3.9	4	48.1	1
Crowell	148	607	4.1	8	37.9	3
Tate	106	333	3.1	4	41.6	0

One of these is fellow back Shaun Draughn, re-signed this offseason to a one-year, $660,000 contract. Draughn, brought on late in the 2014 season, didn't record a carry for the Browns last year. However, he did return kickoffs—five of them, for 115 yards—and that return ability is ostensibly why the Browns brought him back on.

But with Johnson also working kick return duties this offseason, Draughn could find himself increasingly closer to the roster bubble as the summer progresses.

Another back on the roster, Glenn Winston, received praise on occasion from the Browns' coaching staff last year but also didn't get a single carry in 2014. Winston, a similar style and size of running back as Crowell, should get opportunities during the summer to at least prove himself valuable to the Browns roster.

But with a crowded group ahead of him, Winston will have to show that he's not just a clone of Crowell. It's also possible that he'll have to outperform West to stick on the roster, especially if the Browns truly continue to prize Draughn's return abilities. 

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Finally, rounding out the group is 26-year-old undrafted rookie Luke Lundy, whom the team signed after a rookie minicamp tryout. Lundy bounced from college to college, finally settling at small-school Ottawa University in Kansas for his junior and senior seasons. He totaled 1,576 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns in 2014, which, combined with his tryout, caught the Browns' eye enough to sign him.

But Lundy has a long road ahead of him. Even if he has a strong summer, his small-school background and his age are both working against him. The Browns' active depth chart at running back will be hard to crack, with West, Crowell and Johnson penciled in as the team's committee for 2015. Unless he can prove to be indispensable on special teams, Lundy looks like a late-season roster cut or a practice squad hopeful.

With the Browns heading toward a run-heavy scheme in 2015, it's good news that they appear to have at least three backs capable of handling such a workload. The real questions come lower in the depth chart. This summer will be a critical one for Draughn, Winston and Lundy. West, too, will have to shine all summer long if he wants to remain No. 2 on the depth chart this year.

But looking at the position as a whole, the Browns are set up well to have a strong showing in the run game this year.