The Cleveland Browns still don’t have a starting quarterback.
They have as many as four candidates, and that should be the biggest storyline surrounding the team for most of the season.
Their running back situation, however, isn’t lacking talent.
Despite having a bit of a logjam in their backfield, rookie second-round pick Quinshon Judkins should handle the bulk of the workload.
Notably, that’s why Alex Kay of Bleacher Report believes he’s going to have a very solid first year in the league:
“Cleveland will be a perfect place for Judkins to continue his football journey. He’s a good bet to beat out Jerome Ford for RB1 duties, although both the incumbent starter and rookie fourth-rounder Dylan Sampson will chip away at Judkins’ volume and limit his Year 1 upside,” Kay wrote. “This unenviable signal-caller situation should result in plenty of volume for all of Cleveland’s backs, especially Judkins as he looks to establish himself as one of the NFL’s future stars.”
(2025 Projection: 213 carries, 889 yards, 6 TDs; 39 receptions, 283 yards, 1 TD)
The Ohio State product is used to being a part of a committee.
The Buckeyes dominated on the ground with Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson wreaking havoc out of the backfield en route to a national championship.
He’s also a factor in the passing game, which will be crucial to getting him and keeping him on the field in Kevin Stefanski’s play-action offense.
Jerome Ford’s yards-per-carry average is impressive, but he failed to establish himself as a clear-cut RB1, and the fact that the Browns drafted two running backs and signed another as an undrafted free agent shows that they don’t trust him to lead the way going forward.
They also asked him to take a pay cut, which suggests that they could’ve considered parting ways with him this offseason.
The table is set for Judkins to have a featured role right out of the gate, and even if he has to split carries, there should be more than enough touches for everybody in their run-heavy offense.
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