Kenny Britt Injury: Chris Johnson Will Fail to Rush for 1,000 Yards Without WR

The Tennessee Titans’ Chris Johnson will fail to rush for 1,000 yards for the first time in his career.

CJ2k? He won’t even run for half of that without emerging elite WR Kenny Britt around to stretch the field, after he left Week 3 with an apparent ACL and MCL tear, according to NFL Network's Albert Breer.

Britt was dominating the league with veteran QB Matt Hasselbeck calling the shots. He entered Week 3 against the Denver Broncos with 14 receptions, 271 yards and three touchdowns.

Johnson, the Titans’ highest-paid player after holding out for nearly the entire offseason, hasn’t found an inch of running room to start the season.

Through three games, he has accumulated a whopping 98 yards on 46 attempts—2.1 yards per carry.

That’s right—arguably the most dynamic running back in the NFL, who can fit between the tiniest holes and outrun any defender, is averaging 32.7 yards per contest.

It’s tough to imagine things getting worse for him on the ground—but it will.

You would think the Titans don’t have anything else to do, now that Britt is on the sidelines. That’s exactly what defenses will think, too. Johnson will see eight defenders stacked in the box, ready to annihilate him.

Nate Washington is a serviceable No. 2 receiver, but he is not a No. 1 threat. Hasselbeck has been phenomenal to start the season, but that was in large part thanks to Britt’s transcendence to the upper echelon of receivers in his third season.

Hasselbeck would essentially have to play at an MVP-caliber level the rest of the year to prevent defensive coordinators from stacking the box to contain Johnson.

There is good news for Titans fans, though. Despite the loss of Britt and the inevitable lack of production from Johnson in the ground game, CJ2k will lead the Titans in receptions and vie for the lead in yards.

Johnson is still an elite all-purpose player. Britt’s injury will force the team to get Johnson the ball in more creative ways. He may not gain yards on the ground, but he can still exploit defenses in the aerial attack.

Expect to see Johnson line up at wide receiver, where he can obliterate nickel cornerbacks. We already saw some of that against Denver’s weak, injury-depleted secondary.

Johnson already has 13 receptions for 91 yards on the season. Considering how often Hasselbeck will look his way out of the slot or on check-downs, it is not unthinkable that CJ could pull a LaDainian Tomlinson ’03 and record triple-digit receptions.

This is the benefit of employing a man of Johnson’s caliber. He may not be living up to his new contract through the first three games of the season with just 189 total yards, but he will earn every cent in the remaining 13 games. 

He won't live up to his recent rushing standards, due to the lack of running room and offensive-line woes, but he will still dominate the NFL because he is a rare and elite all-around playmaker.

That’s why he deserves to be paid like one—and he’ll prove that by performing at a high level to make up for Britt’s absence.