The Cleveland Browns deployed what is effectively a running back committee approach since Nick Chubb suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2.
Second-year rusher Jerome Ford became the starter, but head coach Kevin Stefanski eventually handed Kareem Hunt around 10 carries per game by Week 5 – two weeks after the team re-signed the veteran. Unsurprisingly, Ford’s rushing yards are better than Hunt’s since Week 3 – 556 yards on 135 carries vs. 361 yards on 111 carries. Ford also averages almost a yard more per carry than Hunt.
But Hunt holds the edge on two fronts: efficiency and touchdowns. The latter is also circumstance – the Browns like Hunt at the goal line more than Ford – but the former is a bit more intriguing from an advanced analytics perspective.
Hunt has a positive expected points added (EPA) per play with around a 41 percent rushing success rate, according to Sumner Sports. Those numbers put him around the same range as the New Orleans Saints’ Alvin Kamara and the Philadelphia Eagles’ D’Andre Swift. Hunt’s EPA/play and his success rate, meanwhile, are near the bottom of the league.
Running Back Efficiency – Through Week 14 pic.twitter.com/eJZ1YGJ65K
— SumerSports (@SumerSports) December 12, 2023
This doesn’t necessarily mean Hunt is a better running back than Ford, it just means Hunt typically succeeds more when he’s put in good positions. Ford is also much more important to the Browns’ passing game than Hunt: He has 35 receptions for 227 yards and three receiving touchdowns compared with Hunt’s 11 catches for 62 yards.
Hunt’s role on the team is basically what it was when Chubb was in the line-up. He plays on short-yardage and high-leverage situations, which includes goal line carries. Ford is the engine that moves the running game, and sometimes the engine stalls.
Ford also suffered a hand/wrist injury in Week 14, but his initial tests came back negative, per head coach Kevin Stefanski. He and Hunt will be integral to the Browns’ postseason success.
