Getty D'Earnest Johnson with the Cleveland Browns.
When Trey Lance suffered a season-ending broken ankle with ligament damage, it severely impacted the San Francisco 49ers‘ offensive rushing prospects. Heading into his sixth season as San Francisco head coach, Kyle Shanahan intended to finally embrace the quarterback-based rush game he coordinated in Washington, with Lance’s legs opening the door to read options and designed runs.
After watching Elijah Mitchell suffer an MCL strain in Week 1 on an inside run, Lance succumbed to a similar fate in Week 2, breaking his ankle and ending his season on the spot.
While Jeff Wilson Jr. kept the run game alive in Week 2, rushing for 84 yards on 18 carries. If the Niners want to remain offensively potent, they may need to look outside to find additional backfield help.
Max Dible, Heavy’s Cleveland Browns contributor, identified an ideal trade partner for the Browns who can further fortify their rushing game now that Jimmy Garoppolo is back under center: D’Ernest Johnson.
D’Ernest Johnson Is Just Looking for an Opportunity
After rushing for 534 yards and three touchdowns on 100 carries in 2021, Johnson found himself inactive in Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season in favor of Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, rookie fifth-round pick Jerome Ford, and UCLA product Demetric Felton, who also earns snaps for the Browns on special teams. This surprising spot on the inactive list, which extended to Week 2, led some, like Dible, to consider that a trade could be in order.
“The most logical option for the Browns is to trade Johnson to a team in need of a running back with starter-level upside,” Dible wrote in his column. “As fate would have it, the San Francisco 49ers became such a team during their September 11 loss to the Chicago Bears.”
Later in his article, Dible backed up his point by passing along the fascinating tidbit that Johnson could very much be had for the right price. According to Brad Stainbrook of the Orange and Brown Report, the Browns view Johnson as movable because of their depth at the position.
“My understanding is there was no trade close for Johnson making him inactive. However… the team is open to trading him,” Stainbrook wrote. “Browns viewed Chubb, Hunt and Ford ahead of Johnson this week.”
If John Lynch wants to make a trade for further reinforcement at the running back position, Johnson is certainly an option.
The San Francisco 49ers Have Options at RB
Coming out of college at USF in 2019, Johnson wasn’t expected to make much of an impact. He wasn’t particularly fast, running a 4.8 40 coming out of college, wasn’t particularly big, and looked like a longshot to be drafted, let alone make an impact in the pros. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein explicitly graded Johnson an undrafted player and didn’t have too much faith in his staying power.
“Johnson simply doesn’t have the size, athleticism, speed or production that stands out,” Zierlein wrote in his draft report. “He is a tough runner willing to accelerate into contact to grind out yardage for his team, but if there aren’t clear points of entry for him, he may not be able to create his own fortunes against NFL competition. His special teams experience could boost his chances once he gets into camp, but making a roster will be a challenge.”
Fortunately, Johnson has proven he belongs at the NFL level, but does his between-the-tackles style of play really provide enough of a contract to Wilson and 2022 third-round pick Tyrion Davis-Price, who was also injured in Week 2, to be worth suffering a Day 3 draft pick for his services? That, folks, is the $1.216 million question, which, coincidentally enough, is the same amount of money Johnson counts against the cap in 2022, according to Spotrac.