There are a lot of different questions about the Browns offense and how it ultimately will look this upcoming season.

For a lot of those questions, even the almost completely overhauled offensive coaching staff doesn't yet have the answers a month and a half before the voluntary offseason program begins.

Obviously, a lot of the questions center around how new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey meshes his system with head coach Kevin Stefanski's in order to fully unlock quarterback Deshaun Watson and the passing game. That will set the bar for where the Browns offense can climb to this season.

It's not lost on Stefanski, however, that the ability to effectively run the football could do wonders to take the pressure off Watson. So the question of how the head coach and his new offensive coordinator will integrate the run game into the overall scheme will be an important one to answer.

"I think Ken sees it exactly how I see it," Stefanski said earlier this week at the NFL combine in Indianapolis. "You want to play through the strengths of your players. I don't think either of us or anyone on our offensive staff believes that you have to do one thing to win in the NFL because that's not the reality of life in the NFL. You have to be multifaceted. You have to be able to pivot in a game. You have to be versatile in what you're doing.

"So we'll do what we feel is best for our players in any specific given game because that changes from game to game as well."

Stefanski has repeatedly said the offensive scheme is going to be a collaborative effort, and not just one involving him and his new offensive coordinator. There's also going to be new voices impacting it from recent hires Andy Dickerson as offensive line coach and Duce Staley as running backs coach.

Both will obviously have a loud voice in those discussions. Staley, in particular, will be leaned upon due to his own 10-year NFL career as well as the reputation he's gained over the last 13 years as an NFL assistant.

"Again, those are all things we’re discussing and working through," Stefanski said. "I’m excited about Duce and the impact he’s gonna have on that room. Duce is a guy that’s played at a high level, he’s developed young guys, he brings his own ideas based on the schemes he’s been in over the years. We’re working through all that."

The Browns have been one of the league's top rushing teams since Stefanski was hired as coach in 2020. In his first three seasons, the lowest they finished in the league in rushing offense was sixth in 2022.

Last season, the Browns were 12th in rushing, although there was an obvious reason for that drop-off — four-time Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb sustained a season-ending knee injury early in the second quarter of a Week 2 loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"We were pleased with how the run game turned out throughout the year," general manager Andrew Berry said this week at the combine. "Obviously Nick's one in a million, and maybe he is one in a billion actually, and so we're not going to get the consistent explosive runs that you get with the best back in football. … But we did have to learn to run without him and we were able to do it effectively enough. But obviously Nick is a difference maker."

Chubb remains the other question that hangs over how the rushing offense could look. That has only a little bit to do with the contractual wrangling that is more than likely going on behind the scenes involving a potential restructuring.

There's still also the issue of the knee injury that ended his 2023 season. Both Berry and Stefanski sidestepped questions at the combine about any timetable for when Chubb might return to full football activities.

Jerome Ford, who replaced Chubb as the lead back last season, and Pierre Strong Jr. both remain under contract for the upcoming season. Another running back is almost assuredly being added this offseason, either through the draft or free agency.

The truth of the matter, beyond all of that, is that one dominant back hasn't been the trend of late in the NFL. So even upon Chubb's return, barring an unexpected offseason release for salary cap reasons, that figures to be a place where the division of labor would be spread around a little bit more.

"It's been interesting as we all know over the years how the game has changed and that position has changed," Stefanski said. "I mean, I think back to this year, the guys that we had gave us a variety of different skill sets. I think you have to be able to catch the ball in this day and age, and we certainly have guys that can catch the ball.

"And this is a tough business. You have to have guys that can go get those hard yards as well. But I know this class and watching some of the guys that are coming out, there's a variety of guys, a variety of skill sets."

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns running scheme remains a question, with or without Nick Chubb