Detroit Lions – Running Back

Remember back a few years ago when the Detroit Lions were the most one dimensional team in the NFL? Remember when Matthew Stafford would have to throw the ball 50 times a game? Well, those days are behind the Lions who now have two very good running backs. Last Detroit struggled running the ball after a slew of injuries at running back. It seems they have learned their lesson after selecting in the second round.

Running back-by- committee backfields have become more popular throughout the NFL. It isn’t uncommon that teams will have three to four backs all getting valuable playing time.

Take San Fransisco for example, they used a back-by-committee approach and rode it all the way to the Super Bowl. However, in most systems that have a back-by-committee there is usually one back that carries more of a load than others.

The Lions have two very good backs in D’Andre Swift and Kerryon Johnson. Kerryon Johnson was a very reliable back who was just starting to scratch the surface of his potential. However, D’Andre Swift was one of the most explosive players in all of college football last season.

Obviously they will have some kind of split, but it will be interesting to see which one comes out with the majority of the touches.