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Is Quinshon Judkins, Jerome Ford, or Dylan Sampson the RB1 for the Browns? Should you draft Judkins, Ford, or Sampson in 2025 fantasy football drafts? Andrew's expert draft analysis and advice.
Pour one out for Cleveland Browns fans. They're in for another dreadful season, marred by off-the-field situations.
One of the team's more anticipated rookies still hasn't checked into training camp due to problems with the law. Fantasy managers have to look at the bigger picture for the on-the-field product while waiting for the legal process to play out, and it's not pretty.
Quinshon Judkins (possibly), Jerome Ford, and Dylan Sampson comprise one of fantasy football's worst running back depth charts. However, if Judkins doesn't play, there are fantasy points to be had - and at a cheap cost. Let's take a look at the fantasy football outlooks for the trio and discuss whether you should draft one of them this season.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
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- NFL rookie fantasy football rankings
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- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Quinshon Judkins Fantasy Football Outlook
One of the most unique legal and disciplinary cases in NFL history is playing out before our eyes. Because of a push for guaranteed money among second-round draft picks this year, Judkins had not signed his rookie contract before his domestic violence arrest in July. Therefore, he's technically not an NFL player yet. But his rights belong to the Cleveland Browns, who are now hesitant to offer a contract until his legal issues are resolved. It's a real chicken-or-the-egg situation.
Judkins was the perfect fit for a featured role, at least on paper. During his time at Ole Miss, he led the SEC in rushing and touchdowns, carrying the ball more than 270 times in his two seasons in Oxford. Then, he continued his efficiency while sharing a backfield with TreVeyon Henderson at Ohio State. Judkins has second-round draft capital and was the third running back selected in a class littered with potential stars at the position. With Nick Chubb, the team's third all-time leading rusher, now in Houston, the lead role was Judkins' to lose.
It sure seems as if he's lost it. Even if his case is dropped tomorrow (spoiler alert: it won't be), and Roger Goodell doesn't hand down a suspension, Judkins still doesn't hold the value he had before the arrest. Rookies need every carry, repetition, coaching tip, and film breakdown to acclimate to the professional game during their first training camp. Judkins is now at least two weeks behind, and the deficit is growing by the day.
Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is "cautiously optimistic" that Judkins will play for the team. It's not exactly the ringing endorsement, with no timeline mentioned, and the Browns' growing reputation of employing players facing legal issues. Haslam was forced to address the problem in front of reporters as training camp opened.
"If you would have asked me a month ago, I would have said, 'No, we're all over it.' We talk about it continually. We've had outside speakers, inside speakers. We talk about it a lot. But clearly we need to look to see what else we can do. It's not acceptable." - Jimmy Haslam, Cleveland Browns owner
In dynasty formats, Judkins is a hold. Fantasy managers likely spent an early first-round rookie pick on the presumptive backfield starter. It's too soon to deal him for lesser value. He could become the talent he was projected to be, but it'll take a contract and a likely suspension first, which makes redraft leagues a completely different story.
Jerome Ford Fantasy Football Outlook
Ford's short and long-term fantasy football stock was in the toilet a month ago. The 25-year-old was cast aside by the Cleveland front office, going as far as to accept a pay reduction offered by the team. That was just days after general manager Andrew Berry spent not one, but two, draft picks on running backs.
Ford finds himself as the lead running back in training camp once again. He opened the 2024 season as the starter with Nick Chubb recovering from his devastating knee injury the year prior, and he projects to get the first carry in 2025 with Judkins not with the team.
Rome on the run@JeromeFord | #DawgPound pic.twitter.com/YWAx3ndJ8K
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 2, 2025
The 2022 fifth-round pick started six games in 2024. While he averaged 17.1 PPR points per game in four of those starts, he left quickly with an injury in the other two. He scored double-digit fantasy points in just one other game. 2023 was a slightly better story, but he split touches with Kareem Hunt. The volume and efficiency aren't always there, as the coaching staff hasn't given its trust to the former Cincinnati Bearcat.
Therefore, Ford is a unique case of a player who offers appeal in redraft formats but holds little value in dynasty leagues. He is on the final season of the reworked deal and hasn't impressed enough to earn a fantasy-relevant role for another team.
Dylan Sampson Fantasy Football Outlook
Cleveland’s initial plan was, seemingly, to eventually work fourth-round pick Sampson into a complementary role. He was, after all, a Day 3 pick. There is typically about one Day 3 running back who exceeds expectations and becomes more than a role player.
Sampson has a below-average size (5’8”) to be a bell cow in the NFL, despite showing durability by leading the SEC in carries last season. He’s a patient runner who is already catching flak from his coaches for a lack of physicality.
Browns rookie RB Dylan Sampson, who may end up being the starter, says he doesn’t like being hit (tackled)
pic.twitter.com/okid6tvHaT— John Frascella (Football) (@NFLFrascella) July 30, 2025
Ford and Sampson both rely on their speed to produce, although Ford notably swings for the fences, while Sampson picks up his yardage chunk by chunk. Still, they have a lot of overlapping skills. It's difficult to envision Sampson fully taking control of the Cleveland backfield.
Who Should You Draft in Fantasy Football?
How bad do you want a Cleveland Brown on your roster? Question marks at both quarterback and running back have pushed down the stock of the remaining Browns’ skill players. Jerry Jeudy is the highest drafted, coming off the board in the sixth round. David Njoku is a middle-tier tight end. Cedric Tillman is a flyer toward the end of drafts.
Ford and Sampson don’t fare much better, hovering near the double-digit rounds. The offense, which averaged a league-low 15.2 points per game in 2024, won’t offer running backs many chances to find the end zone, and when the losses begin to pile up and the coaching staff turns to a rookie under center, it could get even worse.
the browns are projected for 18.6 points per game this season
easily last in the league
I've seen (including by us) hype for Jerry jeudy, Quinshon Judkins, David Njoku, Dylan Sampson and Cedric Tillman
that seems somewhat irresponsible
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) July 9, 2025
As for Judkins, he’s currently a waste of a draft pick in redraft leagues until there’s some development with a contract or a suspension. At best, he becomes a late-season RB2/Flex candidate.
For fantasy managers who prioritize other positions early in drafts and scramble to find running backs late, Ford will get you some volume to start the season while the search continues. But don't rely on him for the full season. Sampson is the late-round lottery ticket.
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