The last two Cleveland Browns seasons have been very subpar for their running back room. The team has been at the bottom of several NFL running back statistics. Before these last two seasons, they had been one of the best departments, but with Nick Chubb running into injury troubles things have gone south. The team needs to build back and strengthen this part of their team during this offseason.

The free agency market opens in the next few weeks, followed by the NFL Draft, and the Browns will be looking at running backs in both of these places.

According to many who are analyzing this year’s draft prospects this draft is stacked with strong runners. It’s just what the doctor ordered for the Browns. In this series, we will look at several running backs that could help the Browns get back to being one of the better running games in the league.

I’ve already mentioned two running in previous mock drafts including DJ Giddens of Kansas State and Omarion Hampton of North Carolina so we won’t mention them in this series. But still, there are many other possibilities for the team.

Running back: Ollie Gordon, Oklahoma State

The Oklahoma State Cowboys have had a few pretty good running backs come through their program, including former Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders. Ollie Gordon is the latest running back to come through their program. He had an outstanding career as a Cowboy, especially in his sophomore 2023 season where he ran wild for over 1732 yards which led the NCAA in that category. He battled a few injuries this past year, but still went for 880 yards and and 13 touchdowns.

Gordon also can take passes coming out of the backfield for long gains. He caught 80 passes for 585 yards and scored four touchdowns.

He’s a big back listed at 6’2 by some accounts. He’s a tough runner and likes to take the contact. He also has a very strong, powerful stride that allows him to accelerate quickly past the defense.

On film, you see this time and time again. In a game against Cincinnati back during the 2023 season, he went on a 75-yard scamper to pay dirt. What was more impressive about that run was how he exploded and ran by for defenders and looked flawless in doing so, making his defenders look like they were running in slow motion.

Gordon is projected to be drafted anywhere between the second and fourth rounds and is listed by some accounts as the 10th or 11th best back in this draft.

The fact that he led all of the NCAA in rushing in his sophomore campaign and he’s only the 10th or 11th best running back in this draft tells you how stacked this draft is with young running back talent.

The Browns would be smart to consider taking Gordon in this draft. If they could pick him up in the later rounds, even better.