Saturday open thread: Who will lead the Detroit Lions in carries in 2018?

The Detroit Lions have finished in the bottom five in rushing yards for four straight seasons. There’s a good chance that’s about to change.

General manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia have spend nearly the entire offseason hitting the running game hard. A new offensive line coach, a brand-new center, a veteran running back and now a young, exciting runner in the backfield.

While there’s no guarantee that the Lions running game will be better in 2018, there’s little doubt it’s going to be different... very different.

One of the biggest questions facing this running game is who will be the lead back, or if there will even be such a thing as a lead back. So today’s Question of the Day is:

Who will lead the Detroit Lions in carries in 2018?

My answer: Kerryon Johnson. Immediately, Johnson is the best runner on the team, it’s pretty much as simple as that.

Last year, LeGarrette Blount carried the ball 10.8 times per game as the Eagles’ lead back. However, when Philly added Jay Ajayi midseason, Blounts carries took a steep dive. For the final five games (and first two playoff games) Blount never carried it more than nine times in a game.

I think you’ll see something like that with Blount and Johnson splitting carries in Detroit. Kerryon will essentially be a “lead” back, but will almost evenly split reps in games. But with Johnson’s best days ahead of him and Blount’s best days behind him, Johnson will emerge as the more essential rusher by the season’s end.

Your turn.