It's no secret that Deshaun Watson struggled in the season opener. It's fair to wonder and to doubt if the Houston version of Watson will ever show up or if Watson will even be league average. If he's not able to be serviceable and the Cleveland Browns don't bench him, there needs to be a plan in place to make the offense functional.
Enter Jerome Ford. A strong running game can go a long way to help the Browns establish an identity on offense. This requires the Browns to actually commit to the run though. Ford had a relatively quiet game against the Dallas Cowboys, in part because the team only gave him four carries in the first half and the Browns trailed by so much in the second half they were forced to throw almost exclusively.
Last year Ford struggled with efficiency. He was able to break off a big run or so every game but then would have most of his carries be for little to no gain. He needs to find a way to be better at consistently getting between three to five yards to help keep the offense on schedule.
RBs who faced light boxes (six or fewer defenders) on at least half of Week 1 runs:
(Generally, this is an offensive design stat)
75% — Jerome Ford
75% — Travis Etienne
70% — Kenneth Walker
69% — Josh Jacobs
69% — Tony Pollard
69% — Zamir White
67% — Saquon Barkley
67% —…— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) September 11, 2024
If Ford is able to keep facing light boxes then he is going to need to take advantage of it. Hopefully the offensive line can get healthy and help Ford be an effective runner.
Ford also has the ability to help Watson in the passing game. Last week Ford was able to bring in six out of his seven targets for twenty-five yards. In 2023, he did have eight drops but was still able to catch about 80% of his on target opportunities.Without being able to rely on the passing game, the team needs more from Ford. This is especially true as the team awaits for the return of Nick Chubb from the PUP list, making him miss a minimum of four games. There are still reasons for optimism after losing Week 1, but the Browns need a win this week and Ford will play a huge role in determining the outcome of the game against the Jaguars.
