If you follow our rankings, Isaiah Crowell will probably end up on a lot of your teams. He's a capable running back, he plays for a team that wants to run the ball, and one that should have some success doing it. And the Browns think Crowell will be very good this season.
“He's only scratched the surface,” says running backs coach Kirby Wilson. . “He’s not even in his prime yet. He has to continue to work hard. He saw what happens from last year — when you work extremely hard, good things happen for you. I think he enjoyed that limited success, and he’s hungry and eager and looking for even more this season.”
Cleveland upgraded an already solid offensive line in the offseason, signing guard Kevin Zeitler and center JC Tretter back in March. And Cleveland, despite having an unthreatening passing offense, was pretty good running the ball a year ago. For example, the Browns averaged 4.9 yards per carry, better than every team but Buffalo.
TEAM RUSHING, 2016 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | Att | Yds | Avg | Lg | TDR |
Buffalo | 492 | 2630 | 5.3 | 75t | 29 |
Cleveland | 350 | 1712 | 4.9 | 85t | 13 |
Dallas | 499 | 2396 | 4.8 | 60t | 24 |
Atlanta | 421 | 1928 | 4.6 | 75t | 20 |
Chicago | 380 | 1735 | 4.6 | 69 | 10 |
Tennessee | 476 | 2187 | 4.6 | 75t | 16 |
Green Bay | 374 | 1701 | 4.5 | 61 | 11 |
Miami | 405 | 1824 | 4.5 | 62t | 14 |
Washington | 379 | 1696 | 4.5 | 66 | 17 |
Oakland | 434 | 1922 | 4.4 | 75t | 17 |
San Francisco | 458 | 2019 | 4.4 | 47 | 15 |
Arizona | 399 | 1732 | 4.3 | 58t | 20 |
New Orleans | 404 | 1742 | 4.3 | 75t | 17 |
NY Jets | 418 | 1802 | 4.3 | 35t | 10 |
Pittsburgh | 409 | 1760 | 4.3 | 60t | 13 |
Jacksonville | 392 | 1631 | 4.2 | 57t | 8 |
Kansas City | 412 | 1748 | 4.2 | 70t | 15 |
Houston | 456 | 1859 | 4.1 | 45 | 8 |
Philadelphia | 438 | 1813 | 4.1 | 30 | 16 |
Baltimore | 367 | 1463 | 4.0 | 41 | 10 |
Carolina | 453 | 1814 | 4.0 | 47 | 16 |
Cincinnati | 446 | 1769 | 4.0 | 74t | 17 |
Indianapolis | 409 | 1628 | 4.0 | 33 | 13 |
New England | 482 | 1872 | 3.9 | 44 | 19 |
Seattle | 403 | 1591 | 3.9 | 75t | 13 |
San Diego | 398 | 1510 | 3.8 | 48 | 10 |
Detroit | 350 | 1310 | 3.7 | 42 | 9 |
Denver | 410 | 1484 | 3.6 | 64 | 11 |
Tampa Bay | 453 | 1616 | 3.6 | 45 | 8 |
NY Giants | 398 | 1412 | 3.5 | 25 | 6 |
Los Angeles | 375 | 1252 | 3.3 | 30t | 9 |
Minnesota | 380 | 1205 | 3.2 | 36 | 9 |
--Andy Richardson