The Detroit Lions have waited years and years to find a good lead back and it appears they finally have one in rookie back Kerryon Johnson, but that doesn't mean that coach Matt Patricia is about to increase his workload.
“I think we have a lot of really good running backs, and I think we try to use them appropriately,” Patricia said, via MLive.com's Kyle Meinke. “I think Kerryon played a significant amount of the game. He played 20 snaps at 55 [yards], that's a good amount. Plus, we had two other running backs, plus we had a couple two-minute drives in there with some other personnel packages and things like that. So, there were quite a few reps in there for Kerryon.”
Johnson is averaging 5.7 yards per carry but through four games he only has 38 carries. Against the Cowboys, he only had nine rushing attempts but finished with the game with 55 yards and a score.
LaGarrette Blount had seven rushing attempts for only 12 yards, and on the season he is only averaging 2.7 yards per game. One thing that could keep Johnson off the field is his poor pass blocking, something he really needs to work on.
Patricia said the reason he wants to use a good mix of backs is because of the wear and-tear that backs take throughout the season.
“We do a lot of studies on full seasons and where guys are at at the end of the season, especially running backs,” Patricia said. “You'll find a lot of teams where guys, maybe earlier in the season were at a high production level, and then by the time they get to the end of the season, the wear and tear of that position is pretty extreme. So, you get to the end of the year and those guys maybe aren't out there as much.”
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