In his Sunday Blitz column, Dan Pompei of the National Football Post talked about how the Cleveland Browns' front office and coaching staff valued Trent Richardson compared to Adrian Peterson, and how former second-round draft choice Montario Hardesty still fits into the mix.
*The great Jim Brown might not see anything outstanding in Trent Richardson, but the Browns office sure did. In fact, the name "Adrian Peterson" came up in the Browns offices when they were evaluating Richardson. The Browns acknowledge Peterson is a little faster, but they think Richardson is better in pass protection, and they believe he is one of the best backs to enter the league in quite awhile. The Browns love his versatility and plan on getting a lot of out of Richardson ASAP. They are not the only ones who think Richardson will be a quick study. Richardson’s presence does not mean the team is giving up on injury-prone Montario Hardesty, however. The hope is that Hardesty can stay on the field and give the Browns a pair of pounders.
Will the Browns really use Hardesty and Richardson as a pair of pounders? If I had to make a guess right now, I'd say that Richardson will be the heavy-hitter most of the game and that Brandon Jackson will receive most of the other reps. Who knows, though -- last year, I tried to guess the reps that Pat Shurmur would distribute between Peyton Hillis and Hardesty, and I was probably wrong 100 percent of the time.