The Cleveland Browns have had one of the more crowded backfields in recent memory. Both Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West enjoyed solid rookie seasons for the team last year and each figured to play a big role in Cleveland's offense in 2015. However, the Browns invested a third-round pick into Miami star Duke Johnson Jr. in this year's draft, further muddying the RB waters. Needless to say, it was a frustrating situation for potential fantasy football owners.
Yet the team's backfield has been cleared up some in recent weeks. West was waived and landed with the Tennessee Titans, leaving Crowell and Johnson as the only two roster-worthy backs on Cleveland's depth chart. The only question now is, which one should you roll with?
"After flirting with a three-man running back committee for three weeks, Cleveland reverted to its two-headed attack against Cincinnati last week," ESPN Fantasy Football Insider Mike Clay wrote. "Isaiah Crowell worked 32 snaps, which allowed him 10 carries and four targets. Duke Johnson Jr., who also played some receiver, managed three carries and three targets on 25 snaps. Robert Turbin, who had played 58 snaps since making his Cleveland debut in Week 6, did not play a snap and was waived on Tuesday. Johnson, heavily involved as a receiver, is already in the RB2 conversation in PPR formats. With Turbin gone, Crowell can be an asset as a matchup-dependent RB2 and should be scooped off waivers."
Overall, Johnson has carried the ball 59 times for just 179 yards (3.0 YPC), but has caught 35 passes for 369 yards and two touchdowns. He's averaging nearly five targets per game and has at least 38 receiving yards in each of his last three games.
Crowell, on the other hand, has been a disappointment after a solid rookie year. He has 101 rushing attempts for 333 yards (3.3) and just one touchdown this year after scoring eight in 2014. He may start to lose more snaps to Johnson as the latter is the more explosive player, giving him more upside in fantasy.
