Browns: 3 Cleveland players who need to step up against the Jets

Kareem Hunt

Kareem Hunt needs 203 yards to break 1,000 yards on the season and it seems like he isn’t going to hit that number, not unless he breaks a big game against the New York Jets. For Hunt, the Jets serve as his last chance all year to use an easy team to get himself started. While his numbers aren’t horrible by any means, the belief that he was a “top 10 running back” as many believed he still was has long died and for good reason. Hunt has lost whatever X-factor he had that made him different than other backs. He stops and lunges into tacklers now instead of trying to outmaneuver them, and his ability to break plays in space has all but vanished. He isn’t the same running back he was and there’s no real answer as to why.

This is the second-lowest yards-per-carry for his career at 4.3. On its own, it’s a fine stat that most running backs would love, yet on the Browns, with his offensive line, you want more from him. Even when he was the featured running back during Nick Chubb‘s injury, Hunt didn’t’ impress. He’s broken 100 yards just once all year. All this would be fine if he was doing the one thing we all thought he’d be doing; catching passes and breaking big plays from the backfield. He does have five touchdowns but would you really say that he’s been special in the receiving game?

This is the game that can redefine his season. A huge outing, (100 rushing/100 receiving?) would make him far more valuable moving forward. After this season, the Browns will look to cut the bloated rosters on the offense. If the Browns need to make cap room to improve their defense, guys like Chris Hubbard, Case Keenum, Odell Beckham Jr, and Hunt may be on the block.

Hunt has one more easy opportunity to get going. Hopefully, he takes advantage of it.