Browns: The running game has fallen off with Kareem Hunt as feature back

The Browns are not getting what they paid for with Kareem Hunt, and while still early his struggles are costing the team.

Kareem Hunt went into the Pittsburgh game set to start for the second straight week after Nick Chubb suffered a knee injury against the Dallas Cowboys. Many thought this would be fine, as people thought Hunt was a top-10 running back still. It’s fair to say, so far anyway, his performance and the stats tell a vastly different narrative for the Browns running back.

Looking at his 2020 season only, Hunt has faired fine against bad defenses but can’t generate anything against good ones. Hunt, who has not played well as a natural between-the-tackles-runner, had 40 yards on just 13 carries against Pittsburgh. Against Washington, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh, Hunt is averaging just 3.43 yard per carry. He’s only broken 80 yards once in the season (against Cincinnati) and has yet to hit 90 yards for a game, let alone 100 yards. As far as receiving yards go, Hunt is non-existent. It’s not just the scheme either, he hasn’t been finding holes like he did last year. He’s taking too long to let plays develop.

It’s not just his running the ball that he’s struggled with. In the passing game, his rate of reception to target went from 84% to 72% from 2019 to 2020. He’s averaging well under a yard plus from the year prior as well. He’s not getting targeted as much, which isn’t his fault at all, but he’s also not turning what receptions he is getting into big plays. His longest run-after-catch last year was 29 yards. His longest this year, 13.

Hunt has only really played well in two games, Cinncinati and Dallas. Against Baltimore, Hunt did most of his damage in the 4th quarter in garbage time (30 yards alone in the quarter). He’s averaged 2.9 against Washington, 3.6 against Indianapolis, and 3.1 against Pittsburgh.

Sure, you could argue that the loss of Wyatt Teller has hurt production and you’re not wrong, it has. You’d be wrong to not acknowledge however that Hunt looked bad even with Teller on the field, however. Hunt is showing that he can’t replace Nick Chubb in production and that his best role on this team is in fact as a pass-catching specialist.

If Chubb isn’t healthy soon, the Browns may need to consider getting another running back, as Hunt is clearly not cutting it. Things may turn around for Hunt, expect a big game from him against the Bengals, but until he can prove that he can lead the charge against a good defense without Chubb, then it’s fair to say that he’s not living up to his deal.

You can only live so long off of past performances before your narrative is re-written.