How the Carlos Hyde trade makes the Jaguars AND Browns better

The Jaguars and the Browns made a splash in the NFL news cycle by agreeing to a trade involving running back Carlos Hyde. Jacksonville sent a 2019 fifth-round pick to the Browns in exchange for the veteran running back.

This trade makes more sense for the Browns than it does the Jaguars, though it’s not a poor trade for Jacksonville by any means. Hyde isn’t the running back that he was when he first got to the league in 2014, but he’s still a serviceable runner.

Hyde has rushed for 382 yards and five touchdowns so far this season.

Hyde is averaging just 3.4 yards per carry this year and has largely been the reason why talented second-round pick Nick Chubb has been on the bench. Now, Chubb and Duke Johnson are going to fill in the touches that Hyde left behind — Hyde was averaging 20 touches per game before the trade.

Chubb has had an outstanding season so far, albeit with a tiny sample size. Chubb is averaging 10.8 yards per carry on 16 attempts. Against the Raiders in Week 5, Chubb had three carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Might want to get that guy the ball a little more.

The Browns now have nine picks in the first six rounds of the 2019 NFL Draft after the Hyde trade. With two better players behind Hyde, they simply didn’t have much use for him anymore. It makes sense that they’d want to get some value for him while the opportunity is still there.

Jacksonville needed to find someone to fill in for Leonard Fournette while he deals with a nagging hamstring issue and Hyde will fit in with Jacksonville’s physical running attack. For what it’s worth, Jaguars running back T.J. Yeldon is averaging a full yard more per carry than Hyde is right now with 4.5 yards per carry.

Jacksonville’s rushing attack as a whole hasn’t been great, so it’ll be interesting to see if Hyde can inject some life into that rushing game. He already has more than twice as many rushing touchdowns (five) as the Jaguars do as a team this season (two). His success in the redzone should help a Jaguars offense that’s averaging 9.8 points per game over the last month of play.

Form Jacksonville’s point of view, giving up a fifth-round pick for a runner that has had success in the past isn’t a big deal.

Grade for Jacksonville: C. They got a decent running back that fits into what they like to do on offense. Hyde hasn’t been particularly productive outside of goal-line situations, but maybe that can change in Jacksonville.

Grade for Cleveland: B. Now the Browns can unleash Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson, even though they could have while Hyde was on the roster. With the way that Chubb and Johnson have performed this year, there wasn’t any reason for Hyde to be on the roster. They got value for a player that wasn’t valuable to them. That’s a good trade.