Detroit Lions running back Kerryon Johnson was excited when he heard the franchise took Georgia's D'Andre Swift in the second round of April's NFL draft. He saw a new running mate, someone to lessen the load off of his own carries and a player who can help keep him fresh.
"He's a phenomenal player," Johnson said Wednesday. "I remember playing against him in college. I hated seeing him every time we played against Nick Chubb and Sony [Michel] and I'm telling you, when that kid stepped on the field, he was lightning in a bottle.
"He was threatening to go 80 yards, 70, 60 every time he touches it. So I'm excited. I can learn from him. He can learn from me. We can all learn from each other and we can all get better."
The Lions envision using a combination of Johnson, Swift and Bo Scarbrough in the backfield this fall. After taking Swift, Lions general manager Bob Quinn said there will be roles for multiple running backs because it's a high-impact position where injuries occur.
Johnson, entering his third season, has dealt with injuries his first two years in the league, appearing in 18 of 32 games, rushing for 1,044 yards and six touchdowns.
He believes they'll be able to take stress off one another instead of having one featured back taking the majority of the carries. Lions head coach Matt Patricia has tried to manage the workloads of his backs in his first two seasons as a head coach, particularly early in the year.
So while Johnson said he doesn't know how work will be divvied up, he believes there will be enough for multiple players. It's part of why he wasn't too concerned when the Lions took Swift in the first place.
During the draft, Johnson was busy taking care of other things anyway -- like watching movies.
"I was actually watching 'Harry Potter.' That was my initial reaction," Johnson said. "I finally watched 'Harry Potter' for the first time all the way through in my life so that was pretty cool.
"Look, I knew we were going to draft a running back eventually. I think, in my opinion, we got definitely one of the top two so I love having a running mate, I love winning games and I think he can help us do that so I wasn't tripping at all. 'Harry Potter' was a good series, too, by the way."