Can Duke Johnson Be the NFL's Next Great Young Pass-Catching Running Back?

As we continue to unwrap a new season each week it’s clear one gift has been pretty popular this year. Well, maybe two: For its equivalent of Christmas coal, the NFL has given us many wayward kickers, and to balance that with joyful smiles we’ve been offered a collection of young dynamic pass-catching running backs.

With the latter you can take your pick for a personal favorite. Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman has already recorded 196 receiving yards after finishing his rookie season in 2014 with 225 yards through the air. David Johnson, a third-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2015, is eighth among all running backs with 137 receiving yards, even while playing only 82 snaps through four weeks (or 30.1 percent of the Cardinals’ snaps, per Pro Football Focus).

And now there’s another rookie charging fast up those running back receiving yards standings. This rookie was completely silent as a pass-catcher through his first two games, partly because of preseason injuries, but mostly due to the Cleveland Browns being the Cleveland Browns.

Now his silence has been broken with 117 receiving yards on 15 catches and 17 targets since Week 3. So you’ve met Duke Johnson, right?

If not, you’ll get to know him quickly, because as Rotoworld’s Evan Silva noted, his usage has skyrocketed.

When Johnson's snap-count percentage is compared to fellow Browns running back Isaiah Crowell’s field time during a Week 4 loss to the San Diego Chargers (he played 36.5 percent of Cleveland’s offensive snaps), it’s clear head coach Mike Pettine has made a blindingly obvious observation.

Johnson presents a more dangerous and multidimensional option out of the backfield. Despite being ignored as a receiver for those first two games, he’s still already eclipsed Crowell’s pass-catching totals in 2014 (nine catches for 87 yards). Johnson could also soon prove to be a more effective runner if given something beyond only scattered carries, as clearing the bar of 3.9 yards per attempt set by Crowell isn’t a difficult leap.

But the receiving threat Johnson presents is what will truly set him apart. Pettine knows that well, just as the rest of us do now after his spectacular over-the-shoulder touchdown catch in Week 4.

Please observe the beauty of what’s shown below with the detail it deserves. That’s a running back 34 yards downfield, craning his neck to locate a lofted, high-arcing throw, and then dotting his feet in the back corner of the end zone.

Awestruck is the proper reaction there, though Pettine seemed to go with giddy.

“Anytime you have a back that can be a first or second down back between the tackles, and a guy that you can also split out...wide and hit him on a vertical route, that puts a lot of stress on a defense,'' he said following a tight 30-27 loss to the Chargers, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Northeast Ohio Media Group.

"He certainly will be a big part of our plans moving forward. That's a pretty good glimpse of how we'll be using him."

Johnson finished with nine receptions for 85 yards against the Chargers, which makes right about now a good time to look back on 2014 and recall the nothingness occupying Cleveland’s backfield on passing downs.

You’ll either laugh heartily when Browns running back receiving totals from 2014 are compared to Johnson’s production so far during limited use, or cry. Both?

Running back(s)	Receptions	Receiving yards
Duke Johnson in 2015	15	117
All Browns RBs in 2014	23	166

It’s not hard to spot the missing element there and the dire need Johnson addresses after he finished his collegiate career at Miami with 69 receptions for 719 yards over three seasons.

Which is why you also nod instinctively when Pettine talks about Johnson’s Week 4 deep touchdown catch as being a “pretty good glimpse” of how he’ll be used.

We can hope that glimpse becomes the norm, because watching uniquely skilled football players do remarkable things is fun. And when they’re on Johnson’s level you acquire a greater respect for the nuances of his role, and how the best pass-catching running backs go about the business of accessing space, while also often creating it for themselves.

Before moving on let’s marvel at his Willie Mays impression once more, and bask in the glow of Johnson’s intense concentration he used to finish the play after leaving Chargers linebacker Donald Butler far in his rearview.

Credit: NFL GamePass

Johnson had motioned out to the left slot in what became a five-receiver set on 2nd-and-5. He then accelerated downfield, running a wheel route. Butler was in trail mode almost immediately, and the resulting distance between linebacker and running back at the end of the play was, in football terms, roughly the equivalent of five miles.

That’s how the 5’9”, 210-pounder uses his raw speed as a weapon. He has plenty of it, too, as the all-time leading Miami Hurricanes rusher (3,519 yards) posted a 4.54 40-yard dash time at his scouting combine appearance. His time ranked sixth among all running backs, but he’s not solely a burner.

Johnson combines his speed with lateral quickness, which makes him the ideal mismatch creator when up against linebackers in space. See the large yellow square below? Stumbling and chasing usually follows when Johnson’s objective is to meet the ball there.

Credit: NFL GamePass

The space developed by design, with three receivers to the right of Browns quarterback Josh McCown running clear-out routes. But Johnson still had to work his way into it while leaving a linebacker—this time Manti Te’o—far behind once again.

Johnson accomplished that with subtle yet staggering movements in a small area. For the league’s best pass-catching running backs, battles are won because of short-area quickness. Often, victory on any single play is rooted in deception, and convincing the defender of your intention to move in one direction before darting in another.

Which is how Johnson separated from Te’o to reach that golden square.

First he sold the defender on a downfield route, forcing Te’o to respect his speed with two long, fast strides while bouncing out of the backfield. Suddenly Te’o had to adjust, and he pushed off with his left foot.

Credit: NFL GamePass

Now all the linebacker’s momentum was headed to the right. That square of gloriously open green grass? It was still located to Te’o’s left.

Then Johnson planted, bringing his forward drive to a grinding halt.

Credit: NFL GamePass

Like a loaded spring he fired off in another direction, catching McCown’s throw and continuing downfield for 16 yards.

Credit: NFL GamePass

Of Johnson’s nine receptions in Week 4, three ended with 15-plus-yard gains. He’s constantly elusive, and even watching his game tape leaves the mind spinning after all the head fakes, stutter-stepping and intricate footwork to separate from coverage.

His slipperiness has reached video-game levels already, as Johnson has created 15 missed tackles on only 46 touches, per PFF. Of those whiffs, five have come when he’s been given an opportunity as a receiver, and asked to win one-on-one faceoffs in the open field.

Johnson won’t lose those often. Which is why his era is upon us in Cleveland, or at least it should be, because giving a highly skilled playmaker more touches follows some pretty basic football logic.

The Browns have basic football logic, right?