Ty Johnson will have lots of competition in the Lions' backfield this season, and he's taking his offseason training seriously.
How's this for leg day?
Pull a Jeep across a parking lot. Oh, and carry an extra hundred pounds or so while doing it. Oh, strap on your helmet, too.
The Lions added two running backs in the draft in D'Andre Swift and fifth-rounder Jason Huntley, and the latter offers some of the same special-teams value as Johnson.
"Listen, there’s going to be competition in that running back room," GM Bob Quinn said after the draft. "We feel good about the depth of that room. ... Huntley will be our smallest guy, but he’s extremely fast. Very confident that we’ll find a role for him, and he is going to be in competition with Ty Johnson.
"Ty Johnson was a sixth-round pick last year, so Ty knows. Ty’s a smart guy. Ty knows he has to come in and learn it every year. We’re excited about Ty Johnson and hopefully the progress he makes from Year 1 to Year 2. We’re going to put Jason right in there with him. We’ll keep the best team we can as possible."
Johnson averaged 4.3 yards per attempt on 63 carries last season. He also caught 24 passes (on 31 targets) for 109 yards. He runs downhill with his strong lower half.
Perhaps Quinn's words were running through Johnson's head as he lugged that Jeep across the lot, one step at a time.