The Cleveland Browns had to make the tough decision of letting Nick Chubb walk in free agency this offseason after the worst year of his career, creating a seismic void in the backfield that they are attempting to fill with a couple of talented rookies.
With second-round pick Quinshon Judkins and fourth-rounder Dylan Sampson in town, it has created an interesting dilemma alongside veteran Jerome Ford, and many have wondered how the touches will be distributed among the three of them.
Emory Hunt of CBS Sports recently discussed Cleveland’s RB situation, saying he sees Ford as the starter but noted that he’ll likely eventually give way to the rookies.
“You like the fact that Sampson is able to get on the field early because of his pass protection and also has the ability to hit the home runs. I still see Ford starting, but he’s going to give way to one of [the rookies] pretty quickly, and if Judkins didn’t have the off-field issues, it would be his job to lose,” Hunt said.
Talked #Browns RB situation & #Bengals defensive line on @CBSSports pic.twitter.com/LwQsCPYYuY
— Emory Hunt (@FBallGameplan) July 19, 2025
Judkins’ recent off-field issues cloud the entire situation quite a bit, and he is currently not reporting to camp, likely at least until there is some sort of resolution with his domestic charge.
He also hasn’t signed his rookie contract yet, so it’s tough to get any sort of clarity on how this entire running back room is going to play out.
The silver lining is that Sampson has the ability to be a workhorse, just as he was at Tennessee last season when he ran for 1,491 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Regardless of what happens, this running game should be better than it was last season, even if Ford is still a big part of the mix with Judkins potentially missing time.
Ford averaged 5.4 yards per carry last year, but that number was significantly boosted by a pair of runs over 60 yards late in the season.
Sampson could provide the type of week-to-week consistency this offense hasn’t had since Chubb was in his prime, and that would go a long way toward turning this team around.
NEXT: Browns May Have A Hidden Gem At Running Back
