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The Lions drafted Kerryon Johnson in the second round believing he is a three-down back. That doesn’t mean they want to use the former Auburn star that way.

The Lions signed LeGarrette Blount in free agency, and they return Theo Riddick and Ameer Abdullah, the team’s leading rushers from last season. But Detroit, which ranked last in rushing last season, trusts that it finally has drafted a running back who can live up to the hype.

“He’s a guy that’s a three-down player,” running backs coach David Walker said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “[At Auburn, he] showed he can play on first, second and third down. He showed he can play in all situations, which was important for us. Very productive in a very good league. So you see the physical qualities, the flexibility in terms of how you can use a guy like that, and then you have a chance to meet him and see how smart and driven he is. He’s kind of the type of player that fits with our program because he’s smart, he showed he’s productive and then he has flexibility in terms of first, second, third downs.”

Johnson led the SEC in rushing last season with 1,391 yards, playing in an offense that passed less than 40 percent of the time. He joins an offense that threw 58 percent of the time last year, according to Birkett.

Lions General Manager Bob Quinn expects to use Johnson “more to run outside” than inside like Johnson did at Auburn.

“I’ve grew up in the southeast, know a bunch of people from the southeast and I’ve watched a lot of SEC football over the years,” offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. “It sure was fun to watch him compete on those Saturdays when we’re maybe making a road trip or at the hotel doing whatever we do. Came to respect him as a competitor and we’re going to throw him in here and see if he can get better, see how he does.”