On Thursday, the Cleveland Browns finally granted Duke Johnson's wish, trading the disgruntled running back to the Houston Texans for a fourth-round draft pick that will become a third-rounder if Johnson is active in 10 games for the Texans this season.
Legendary Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas is a huge fan of the trade, praising general manager John Dorsey for getting that much value in return for a backup halfback:
“Really good value by (Browns GM) John Dorsey to get a fourth-round pick — probably a third-round pick — for a running back who has never really been a featured back,” Thomas said during Cleveland's preseason game against the Washington Redskins on Thursday night, per Jeff Risdon of Browns Wire. “That’s pretty impressive, especially in today’s NFL where they really value draft picks — in my opinion almost too much. That’s really an amazing job by John Dorsey.”
Johnson requested a trade earlier this offseason after the Browns signed fellow running back Kareem Hunt, which knocked Johnson down to third on the depth chart, a pecking order that also includes Nick Chubb.
Cleveland maintained that it planned on keeping Johnson, but obviously, it was using that notion as leverage to extract more value in a trade, and it seems like it worked out.
Johnson spent the first four years of his career with the Browns and was more of a receiving back than a rusher, as he has never had a season where he accumulated more rushing yards than receiving yards.
The 25-year-old is coming off of a 2018 campaign in which he rushed for 201 yards while catching 47 passes for 429 yards and three touchdowns.
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