The Cleveland Browns left free agency and the 2023 NFL draft with one position of need predominantly untouched: running back. As the Browns have moved on from Kareem Hunt and continue to sort out their depth chart behind the best bacll carrier in the NFL in Nick Chubb, there has been no bigger winner than second-year back Jerome Ford.
Solidifying his role as the second running back on the depth chart, the Browns have not even given Ford a contender to compete with. It is becoming apparent that Ford is their plan and not just a fallback behind Chubb. And his running back coach Stump Mitchell has high praise for the former Cincinnati Bearcat:
“Jerome’s got a skillset that allows him to do anything and everything… Pass protection, we worked a lot (on that) this spring, so that was the really the only thing we didn’t really have a good handle on because he didn’t do it a lot in college.”
Mitchell finished raving about Ford by shouting out his work ethic on the field:
“He’s worked extremely hard… We know about his skill set with the ball in his hands.”
Look out for Ford to see a significant uptick in touches as the Browns look to replace the 158 times Hunt touched the football a year ago. The second-year back is poised to make a name for himself for the Browns in 2023.
