The Cleveland Browns have two players who can play fullback in the NFL. It won’t be easy to choose the starter.
the Cleveland Browns have two outstanding candidates in Andy Janovich and Johnny Stanton to play as full-backs this season.
This is one of the toughest fights we’ve seen between two fierce competitors since Ali versus Frazier, Tiger versus Mickelson, or Bird versus Magic. Well, okay, maybe that’s too melodramatic, but you get the idea.
Andy Janovich was a great player for the Browns last season. Much of what he contributes doesn’t appear in the box score. Nowadays, the full-back is almost like a sixth offensive lineman who chooses his place to block for the running game or closes holes in the pass protection.
Janovich is a proven player who can rescue Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt or save Baker Mayfield from a possible disaster. Every now and then he will catch a pass or run the ball when the opposing defense takes him too lightly, but that’s not his forte. He just brings his hard hat and bread bucket to the stadium and goes to work. The Dawg Pound values players like Janovich.
Stanton only played one game for the Browns last season as a substitute from the practice team. This summer he clearly surpassed Janovich, but his performances came against the second and third competition.
He split wide, made difficult catches, ran the ball and also blocked. He is more athletic than Janovich at all stages of the game, but is he as good as Janovich as a blocker against high profile opponents? That is a difficult question to answer.
Unlike the Falcons on Sunday, Stanton did his blocking duties well, running the ball twelve yards three times, making a brief reception for another four yards, and playing a good game as a defender, letting the ball loose when a defender got the Falcons made an interception.
Stanton played middle linebacker in college as well as quarterback, so he has diverse skills to say the least. He did whatever it took to validate his skills as a multidimensional soccer player. How can coach Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt turn him off?
Janovich has the benefit of experience as he is now in his sixth year in the NFL. He came to Cleveland last season after four productive seasons in Denver. However, Janovich’s contract calls for a $ 1.44 million salary this season with no guarantees. Stanton has hit the NFL minimum of $ 660,000.
From an analytical point of view, Stanton is therefore the better value if the two players are roughly on the same level. On the other hand, Janovich’s salary in the overall system is not very high and is not going to break the bank.
The coaching staff must also consider which player is likely to improve the most this season and next. If Janovich has an advantage right now but Stanton is improving, he could get better over the course of a 17 game season and playoffs.
Could the Browns keep both players? There is some speculation that Stanton could be kept as the fourth tight end, with Janovich being used as a true full-back.
Alternatively, it’s tempting to believe that since most NFL teams don’t have a full-back on their roster, they allow a full-back to delete waivers so the Browns can sign the second full-back to the training roster. But that’s probably wishful thinking.
Janovich is rated as an above-average NFL defender (top 5, say). Janovich rose to this level too. In all likelihood, both Janovich and Stanton are too valuable to clarify waivers.
Will both full-backs make the Cleveland Browns roster?
This observer’s guess is that Stanton will make up the squad.
The reason is that if the coaching staff had thought of keeping Janovich and not Stanton, they would have played more three wide receiver sets and not used Stanton as much as they definitely had receivers they wanted to see more of .
They wanted to take another look at Stanton and guess they liked what they saw. Most of his snaps were as a full-back rather than a fourth tight end, so the scenario of keeping both Janovich and Stanton in the 53-player roster is less likely to prevail. Still, it’s not entirely impossible. As Jim Carrey suggested in the film Dumb and Dumber“So you’re telling me there is a chance!”
Both players will continue their careers in the NFL. The only question is who or both will carry on with the Browns at the season opener in Kansas City.
