Duke Johnson has been in Cleveland his entire NFL career. He's comfortable in the city and with the Browns. Nick Chubb and Carlos Hyde, however, are newcomers to Cleveland's backfield. Chubb is a rookie from Georgia; Hyde spent the first four years of his career with the 49ers.
All three backs have different skill sets, abilities and personalities. But that doesn't mean that the running back room won't be an exciting position group to follow during the training camp.
"Oh my God. It can be fun. It definitely can be fun," Johnson said. "Between myself, Carlos and 'Old School,' which is Chubb, we definitely can be something special.
"We have to find our role."
Although the trio has only been together since May, Johnson already dubbed Chubb with the name "Old School" because of Chubb's non-flashy appearance and playing style.
Chubb was a bruiser at Georgia, rushing for 4,769 yards over his career, a mark that ranks second all-time in the SEC. He wears no flashy jewelry, a bigger facemask than most and sometimes doesn't put on gloves when he plays.
"It drives me crazy," Johnson said. "He's in the wrong era. The wrong generation."
No matter what generation Johnson thinks Chubb belongs to, they're teammates who have each other's back. Along with Hyde, the three could make one of the league's most versatile backfields. Chubb is taking the time during OTAs and training camp to learn from the two experienced backs.
Hyde proved what he can do during his time in San Francisco. He has 2,729 career rushing yards, and come within 100 yards of a 1,000-yard season in each of the last two years. He was the best running back on the roster.
Now, he's part of a three-headed stable. Yes, the three have only been through OTAs and a couple of training camp practices together, but they already can tell this could be a dangerous trio for the rest of the league to handle.
"It's coming along well. You can pick your poison," Chubb said. "We have talented running backs. It'll be hard to stop. For defenses, it'll be hard to scheme and plan on it. I come from a crowded backfield, too, so it's nothing new to me. The competition brings more out of you. I look forward to competing with these guys and learning from them. And eventually playing together with them and winning some games with them."
Winning games is the ultimate goal, but finding the roles and fits to accomplish those wins are what is important during the training camp period.
"Each one of us have to find our role and not be upset about it, not get bothered by it, but embrace it," Johnson said. "And the sooner we embrace it, the sooner we understand what our role is for this team, the better we'll be."
