Running back Duke Johnson, a 3rd round pick from the University of Miami in 2015, currently leads the Browns in receiving yards.
| No. | Player | Age | Pos | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds |
Y/R | TD | R/G | Y/G | Ctch% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Duke Johnson | 24 | 12 | 0 | 69 | 52 | 456 | 8.8 | 2 | 4.3 | 38.0 | 75.4% | |
| 87 | Seth Devalve | 24 | te | 12 | 4 | 46 | 26 | 335 | 12.9 | 1 | 2.2 | 27.9 | 56.5% |
| 85 | David Njoku | 21 | te | 12 | 2 | 49 | 28 | 332 | 11.9 | 4 | 2.3 | 27.7 | 57.1% |
| 80 | Ricardo Louis | 23 | WR | 12 | 9 | 57 | 26 | 322 | 12.4 | 0 | 2.2 | 26.8 | 45.6% |
| 18 | Kenny Britt | 29 | wr | 9 | 4 | 38 | 18 | 233 | 12.9 | 2 | 2.0 | 25.9 | 47.4% |
| 81 | Rashard Higgins | 23 | wr | 11 | 3 | 40 | 20 | 214 | 10.7 | 0 | 1.8 | 19.5 | 50.0% |
| 19 | Corey Coleman | 23 | rt/wr | 6 | 6 | 36 | 15 | 206 | 13.7 | 1 | 2.5 | 34.3 | 41.7% |
| 34 | Isaiah Crowell | 24 | RB | 12 | 12 | 30 | 20 | 180 | 9.0 | 0 | 1.7 | 15.0 | 66.7% |
| 12 | Josh Gordon | 26 | wr | 1 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 85 | 21.3 | 0 | 4.0 | 85.0 | 36.4% |
| 82 | Kasen Williams | 25 | wr | 7 | 2 | 18 | 9 | 84 | 9.3 | 0 | 1.3 | 12.0 | 50.0% |
| 11 | Bryce Treggs | 23 | wr | 6 | 1 | 18 | 5 | 79 | 15.8 | 0 | 0.8 | 13.2 | 27.8% |
| 10 | Sammie Coates | 24 | wr | 8 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 62 | 12.4 | 0 | 0.6 | 7.8 | 50.0% |
| 27 | Matthew Dayes | 23 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 29 | 7.3 | 0 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 80.0% | |
| 11 | Jordan Leslie | 26 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 26 | 26.0 | 0 | 0.5 | 13.0 | 100.0% | |
| 86 | Randall Telfer | 25 | TE | 12 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 0 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 100.0% |
| 40 | Dan Vitale | 24 | fb | 12 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 0 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 50.0% |
| 70 | Kevin Zeitler | 27 | RG | 12 | 12 | 1 | 1 | -4 | -4.0 | 0 | 0.1 | -0.3 | 100.0% |
| Team Total | 24.6 | 12 | 435 | 238 | 2681 | 11.3 | 10 | 19.8 | 223.4 | ||||
| Opp Total | 12 | 262 | 2764 | 10.5 | 23 | 21.8 | 230.3 |
Suffice it to say, that’s not a good thing, at least in this case. The Browns rank last in ANY/A at 3.5 and last in passer rating at 59.8; Cleveland has the worst passing attack in the NFL, and the fact that Johnson is the team’s leading receiver probably speaks to that.
It’s also pretty rare. Excluding guys like Eric Metcalf or who played running back at times but wasn’t a running back in say, the 1995 Falcons, it’s only happened twice since 2000. Two years ago, with Keenan Allen limited to 8 games and Antonio Gates to 11, Danny Woodhead led the Chargers in receiving yards. And for the 2013 Chiefs, Jamaal Charles somehow led the team in rushing and receiving yards (something neither Johnson nor Woodhead did) as Dwayne Bowe and Donnie Avery fought for table scraps.
The table below shows every running back to lead his team in receiving yards since 1970:
| Running Back | Year | Team | Rec Yds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Woodhead | 2015 | SDG | 755 |
| Jamaal Charles | 2013 | KAN | 693 |
| Marshall Faulk | 1998 | CLT | 908 |
| Amp Lee | 1997 | RAM | 825 |
| Mike Alstott | 1996 | TAM | 557 |
| Larry Centers | 1995 | CRD | 962 |
| John Williams | 1992 | SEA | 556 |
| Keith Byars | 1990 | PHI | 819 |
| Keith Byars | 1989 | PHI | 721 |
| John Settle | 1988 | ATL | 570 |
| Herschel Walker | 1987 | DAL | 715 |
| Herschel Walker | 1986 | DAL | 837 |
| Roger Craig | 1985 | SFO | 1016 |
| Joe Cribbs | 1983 | BUF | 524 |
| Curtis Dickey | 1983 | CLT | 483 |
| Darrin Nelson | 1983 | MIN | 618 |
| William Andrews | 1982 | ATL | 503 |
| Billy Sims | 1982 | DET | 342 |
| Tony Nathan | 1980 | MIA | 588 |
| Bruce Harper | 1980 | NYJ | 634 |
| Joe Washington | 1979 | CLT | 750 |
| Tony Reed | 1978 | KAN | 483 |
| Lydell Mitchell | 1977 | CLT | 620 |
| Lydell Mitchell | 1974 | CLT | 544 |
| Art Malone | 1972 | ATL | 585 |
Herschel Walker, Keith Byars, and Lydell Mitchell are the only players to do it twice.