Why Browns' season hinges on Kareem Hunt and Jerome Ford, not Deshaun Watson
Although it come at the expense of a season-ending injury to Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt’s patience may have finally paid off.
The 28-year-old running back inked a one-year, $4 million deal to return to the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday.
Although he will likely be the No. 2 option behind Jerome Ford, Hunt will presumably see a larger role within the Browns offense than the 100.5 carries he averaged over the last two years, making he and Ford the two most valuable players in Cleveland’s offense.
No, Deshaun Watson is not forgotten, but he’s clearly not the same quarterback he was in Houston (taking more than two calendar years off will do that), and he’s proved that the Browns can’t rely on him right now to be the reason they win games.
With the Texans, Watson compiled a 28-25 record and averaged 269.2 yards passing and 1.92 passing touchdowns per game with a completion percentage of 67.8 and a passer rating of 104.5.
With Cleveland, he’s 4-4 as a starter and averaging 186.4 yards passing and 1.12 passing touchdowns per game with a completion percentage of 57.3 and a passer rating of 76.2.
Watson’s sack percentage also increased from 9.1% with the Texans to 10.8% with the Browns, despite playing behind a better offensive line that allows him more time in the pocket (2.7 seconds to 2.5 seconds) with a lower pressure rate (22.1% to 26.7%) than what he had with the Texans.
In addition to Watson’s shortcomings, the Browns are also a run-first team, and Kevin Stefanski is a run-first head coach.
Adding a back of Hunt’s caliber is the best-case scenario for the Browns; he already knows the offense and the head coach, he adds a receiving threat out of the backfield, which should help alleviate some of the pressure on Watson, and he and Ford can form a strong one-two punch while keeping the other fresh.
“Jerome’s very young, he’s talented, got a lot of speed and he’s made a big jump,” Hunt told reporters on Wednesday, via the team's official website. “He’s just growing and getting better. So, I’m excited to see us paired together, how we can wear down defenses and break runs.”
Since Stefanski took over in 2020, Cleveland has been one of the league’s best rushing teams — ranking second in rushing yards (7,335), third in rushing attempts (1,512) and tied for fourth in rushing touchdowns (61) over those three seasons.
The only teams to rank in the top three in at least two of those categories over the same stretch are the Baltimore Ravens, who have the most carries (1,598) and yards (8,270), the Tennessee Titans, who have the second-most yards (1,559) and touchdowns (65), and the Philadelphia Eagles, who have the third-most yards (7,251) and the most touchdowns (73).
The Browns can win without an elite QB. They won 26 games over the last three years with Baker Mayfield, Case Keenum and Jacoby Brissett running the show. They can’t, however, play to their identity without a strong run game, meaning the fate of their season rests on Hunt and Ford’s shoulders and not Watson’s.
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