PFF ranks the Cleveland Browns’ running backs 3rd best unit in the NFL

Do the Cleveland Browns have the best backfield in the NFL? Not according to PFF.

The Cleveland Browns have the best running back in the NFL, that is if you believe PFF’s Trevor Sikkema. Sikkema listed the Browns’ franchise running back as the No. 1 running back in the league, ahead of Christian McCaffery, Derrick Henry, and Jonathan Taylor. No one should dispute this. Chubb has been one of the best running back since 2018 and has proven it week in and week out.

While he’s missed some games, he’s largely been reliable week in and week out. That isn’t even the best thing about Chubb, as while he’s been someone you can rely on to be ready to play, he’s also never been a problem off the field unlike some of his current and past teammates.

From Baker Mayfield to Odell Beckham Jr, to Myles Garrett and Deshaun Watson, Chubb has seen his teammates get in trouble or stay in trouble week after week, oftentimes putting their own desires ahead of the team. Never Chubb. In fact, Chubb became a Browns legend when he countered a selfish statement from Beckham.

In a game early in their time together, Beckham said he wanted to score a touchdown to Chubb, to which Chubb responded, “I want to win”. It was a single statement that made him a legend to the Brownie faithful.

Sadly, despite fans desperately trying to put Jerome Ford as the next big thing behind Chubb, PFF doesn’t think so. That’s why PFF put the Browns’ running backs unit at No. 3 in the NFL among all teams, as they believe Chubb is that good but the rest of the running backs are lacking in some form. To such a degree, the writer described the Browns’ backfield as having a “lack of depth”; which is true.

The Cleveland Browns are in fact not deep at running back

We don’t know if Ford is going to be good, he barely played as a rookie. He sat behind Kareem Hunt and at times, Demetric Felton, as well as Chubb.

Chubb, on his own, is good enough to lift the team on his shoulders as a unit. The unit, on its own, is a Top 5 unit just because Chubb is on the roster. Can Ford increase the venue and raise the profile of the unit? We can only hope so.

We’ve seen Hunt, while he had fallen off from his Kanas City days, play well at times for Cleveland. Not to mention D’Ernest Johnson, who also played well behind this team’s offensive line. So if they succeeded in part due to how good the offensive line was, then Ford should play well. And if not, he should play “well enough”.

As long as Chubb is able to stay healthy, this team is going to have a running game they can rely on.

• Published on 06/15/2023 at 23:38 PM
• Last updated at 06/15/2023 at 23:38 PM