Cleveland Browns Risk on Isaiah Crowell Paying Off

The Cleveland Browns are nothing if not risk takers. That is abundantly clear just in the last couple of years with their acquisitions of Josh Gordon, the NFL’s leading receiver a year ago who was suspended up until week 12 of this season. It was clear when they drafted Johnny Manziel in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, a guy who has been as much a distraction off the field as he has been a success on it, and that’s saying something considering we’re talking about a Heisman Trophy-winning first rounder.

The Browns’ apparent ability to deal with distractions led to their signing of former Georgia Bulldogs five-star recruit and Alabama State transfer Isaiah Crowell, who has a stranglehold on their top running back spot with fellow rookie Terrance West and gave the team enough confidence that they felt they could cut Ben Tate, one of their high profile free agent pickups.

As I said, the risk is paying off for the Browns, who have gotten five yards per carry and seven touchdowns out of Crowell this season, his first in the NFL after a troubled career in college. Crowell looked like an absolute beast in his first year with Georgia, earning Freshman of the Year honors but trouble off the field got him kicked off of Mark Richt’s team, and he wound up playing two seasons for Alabama State.

He rushed for 30 touchdowns in those two seasons, including a monster junior year where he averaged nearly seven yards per carry. Now for the Browns, he and Terrance West are providing the boost in the running game that they need in order to make — dare I say — a significant playoff push. The Browns are no strangers to fourth place, but this year they are 7-4 through their first 11 games, and the improved running game from these rookies is a big reason why.

Of course, the Browns’ defense is not bad either, but Crowell has been a pickup after the draft that has paid huge dividends. He’s currently the ‘starting’ running back, sharing carries with West, but Crowell showed great burst on a couple of touchdown runs against the Falcons this past weekend and has done enough to prove that he should be the lead ball carrier down the stretch.

At any rate, this was a potentially high-reward, high-risk move by the Browns that looks like it’s paying off in a big way already this year.