During the Cleveland Browns’ minicamps and OTAs this spring, one of Todd Monken’s main offensive tenets became clear. The head coach believes in building schemes around the strengths of his players, rather than asking them to conform to rigid system responsibilities.
That was a marked contrast to the way Kevin Stefanski utilized his players during his six seasons as Cleveland’s head coach. His methods did not always take advantage of what a player might do best, and they may have held some of them back.
One player in particular may have been running back Dylan Sampson. As a rookie, the fourth-round pick from the 2025 NFL Draft was sparingly used, in part because at 5-foot-8, 200 pounds, he would struggle in pass protection.
But Sampson was electric as a receiver out of the backfield, and Monken put those skills to use during the spring workouts. Now, with training camp on the horizon, he could become a dynamic X-factor for the Browns’ offense this season.
Analyst Lance Reisland said he believes Sampson could create a real matchup problem for Browns’ opponents in 2026 if Cleveland can get him the ball in space.
“I’m super excited about Dylan Sampson. Sampson’s gotta be a guy that creates space. You don’t have to do much for him. Just give him the ball in space and let him make some yards for you. If you go back to the premise of allowing the stars to shine, the more that these second-tier guys can make the plays and star in their role. These guys are all about getting the ball in space and creating on their own without everybody having to be perfect. That’s what these guys do best. Sampson now becomes a problem, who do you cover Sampson with? Sampson’s gotta be really good out of the backfield,” Reisland said.
Reisland makes the point that an offense can decide if it wants to block the blitz or beat the blitz. In the highlights accompanying those comments, Sampson can be seen running routes to beat the pass rush. They are even more impressive as they come against teammate Carson Schwesinger, who is among the best coverage linebackers in the NFL.
Sampson appeared in 15 games as a rookie, but played just 26 percent of the offensive snaps. He was still able to post 33 receptions on 40 targets for 271 yards, highlighted by a 66-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 12.
As part of a passing game that is adding rookie wide receivers KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston to a group that includes veteran Jerry Jeudy and emerging tight end Harold Fannin Jr., Sampson could provide another versatile option for Monken’s player-based approach.
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