Jerome Ford - Cleveland Browns Running Back - ESPN (2024)

News: 5 days agoFord rushed three times for six yards and caught two of three targets for 26 yards in Sunday's 31-14 loss to the Bengals.

Spin: Neither Ford nor Kareem Hunt (zero carries, one catch) saw much involvement with the Browns locked in as the top wild card in the AFC. Pierre Strong led Cleveland's backfield with 14 carries for 65 yards before exiting with a back injury. Ford finishes the regular season with 813 yards and four touchdowns on 204 rushing attempts, as well as 44 catches for 319 yards and five touchdowns on 63 targets. He will likely return to his usual role as the 1A backfield option for the Browns with Hunt working as the 1B against the Texans in the wild-card round.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Ford was selected by Cleveland in the fifth round of the 2022 draft but was limited to eight carries on 13 snaps during his rookie season. The Cincinnati product is positioned for a larger role in his second season, as he competes to replace Kareem Hunt as the No. 2 back behind Nick Chubb. Ford has a good size/speed profile and his overall collegiate efficiency was good, though it did drop off a bit in his final season (2021) and he didn't see much work in the passing game. Ford is only worth late-round consideration in deep leagues, but he'll have some insurance appeal if he locks down No. 2 duties.