The Detroit Lions have wrapped up the 2019 season. Over the next two weeks, MLive will hand out reviews for each of the team’s position groups. Today: Running backs. Next: Wide receivers.

Running backs

Starter: Kerryon Johnson

Backups: Bo Scarbrough, Ty Johnson, J.D. McKissic, Wes Hills, Tra Carson

Key stats: The Lions started six different running backs thanks to another injury-plagued season from Kerryon Johnson. The second-year back led the team in rushing despite missing multiple games of action for the second straight season. He tore his meniscus in Week 7 but returned after undergoing surgery to post double-digit carries in the final two weeks. He led the team with 403 yards and three touchdowns while notching the only 100-yard game along the way against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4. Bo Scarbrough, though, took advantage of Kerryon Johnson’s absence, starting five games and running for 377 yards on 89 carries.

C.J. Anderson lasted only two games in Detroit before being cut as the team started Kerryon Johnson, Ty Johnson, J.D. McKissic, Tra Carson, Wes Hills and Scarbrough in at least one game this season.

The Lions averaged 4.1 yards per carry, which was good enough for 21st in the league. Another stat that sticks out like a sore thumb is Detroit’s 29th ranked seven rushing touchdowns. When Wes Hills scored two touchdowns in his only game of the season in Week 15, he was tied for the team lead in scores on the ground. Kerryon Johnson would eventually score in the finale to take the lead back but, yeah, not great.

Ben’s grade: C-

Breakdown: It’s important to remember that Kerryon Johnson wasn’t exactly blowing anyone away before he went down with the knee injury. He was receiving a near bell-cow workload through the first six games and turned in a mostly lifeless effort outside of his explosion against the Chiefs. The former second-round pick couldn’t keep his groove after admittedly running into the backs of blockers and missing on reads early on. He’ll look to head into the offseason with some confidence after scaring the hell out of fans by returning with a combined 21 carries in Detroit’s final two games. Kerryon Johnson left those games unscathed and looked good doing it with Scarbrough and even Ty Johnson at his side.

There are obvious reasons to be concerned about Kerryon Johnson’s durability after missing 14 games across his first two seasons. Still, he was able to return and handle a decent workload in Weeks 16 and 17. One has to think he’s feeling good with those results moving forward after making the gamble to return.

Scarbrough is one of, if not the most, feel-good story coming out of the team’s 3-12-1 season. The former Alabama back bounced around on multiple practice squads for more than a year before making his NFL debut in Week 11. He ran for 55 yards and a score on 14 carries in his debut and would’ve passed the century mark in two other games down the stretch if it weren’t for a pair of penalties.

The most impressive part of Scarbrough’s game is his ability to absorb contact and just keep on trucking The 6-foot-1, 235-pound running back makes every tackle look straight painful. He picked up 194 of his 377 yards after contact. Scarbrough doesn’t offer much in the passing game, but provides another layer worth keeping around in Darrell Bevell’s offense.

That takes us from one of the bright spots to one of the more disappointing developments in Ty Johnson. The sixth-round rookie showed off his top-flight speed in the preseason, but couldn’t get it rolling despite locking down a role in all 16 games. He ran for 65 yards on three attempts in the season finale, which helped bump his stats up from dreadful territory. He finished the season with 63 attempts for 273 yards while failing to top the 30-yard mark on the ground in the other 15 games. Ty Johnson also caught 24 passes for only 109 yards.

J.D. McKissic was claimed off waivers heading into the season and ended up also securing a spot on the offense in all 16 games. He came into Detroit with experience in Bevell’s system and went on to turn in some impressive performances in a depth role. McKissic will be an unrestricted free agent after running 38 times for 205 yards while adding 34 catches for 233 yards.

There were some bright spots, no doubt, and the team has an intriguing backfield duo moving forward, but this past season marks another mostly disappointing year on the ground in Detroit. Kerryon Johnson played eight games and ranked 41st out of 45 eligible running backs with at least 100 carries in terms of defense-adjusted value over average. Football Outsiders explains DVOA as a representation of “value, per play, over an average running back in the same game situations.”

With all of that said, fans should feel optimistic about the prospects of Kerryon Johnson and Scarbrough moving forward. They each add a little different flavor to the backfield, which would pair nicely with Ty Johnson as a pass-catcher if the speedster can improve and salvage his roster spot in 2020.

Kerryon Johnson is more of a slasher that can make defenders miss in the open field, while Scarbrough is more of a fiery boulder rolling straight down a mountain. Take exhibit a:

Triple WOOP by Kerryon Johnson pic.twitter.com/DlhIL7AFKa — Isaac (@WorldofIsaac) September 15, 2019

And exhibit b:

Washington Redskins strong safety Landon Collins (20) loses his helmet while tackling Detroit Lions running back Bo Scarbrough. AP

For all of this to come together, the Lions have some questions to answer on the offensive line. Graham Glasgow emerged as one of the better young guards in the league while Rick Wagner is coming off a down year with a cap hit of $11.9 million. The combination of Scarbrough and Kerryon Johnson paired with a returning Matthew Stafford at quarterback is reason to feel hopeful, but all too familiar questions linger on the offensive line.

Related: Lions 2019 review: A tale of two seasons at quarterback