Quinshon Judkins Fantasy Football Outlook: Important Return From Injury

Can Quinshon Judkins get back to partying like it was 2025? As in, before a devastating pair of leg injuries ended prematurely what had been a breakout rookie season. If he does get back to that form, it could give the Cleveland Browns a chance in a few games this upcoming season. Ian Hartitz breaks it down as part of his Cleveland Browns Team Preview.

Is Quinshon Judkins the Hero Zero-RB drafters deserve?

RB1: Quinshon Judkins (RB22)
RB2: Dylan Sampson (RB56)
RB3: Raheim Sanders

There was a lot to like about Quinshon Judkins as a rookie. The Ole Miss/Ohio State product combines physicality with enough breakaway speed to put together a pretty, pretty, pretty good highlight mixtape.

Quinshon Judkins pic.twitter.com/M1kiZc2sgz
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) June 17, 2026

Of course, things fell off in a pretty major way down the stretch of last season: Judkins averaged 4.1 yards per carry in Weeks 1-9 compared to just 3 in Weeks 10-18. An October shoulder injury could have perhaps influenced this dropoff, and the league's 32nd-ranked offensive line in RB rush yards *before* contact per carry also didn't help. Cleveland came in 29th in my running back supporting cast rating and literally the only reason they weren't lower was because of the group's high combined target share.

The problem here is that it's not exactly guaranteed that Judkins, or the Browns offensive line, suddenly puts their best foot forward in 2026. In Judkins' case, he's recovering from a brutal season-ending dislocated ankle and fractured fibula. The injury isn't expected to necessarily sideline him for any regular-season action, although historically we have seen players with similar injuries struggle to provide their usual level of explosiveness in their first season back.

Ultimately, Judkins is a solid early-down runner with questions surrounding his 2026 effectiveness post-injury, offensive scoring upside and pass-game involvement. That sure sounds like a dead-zone pick to me–it's tough to paint an overly optimistic upside scenario here, leading to Judkins coming in as my RB24 behind guys in far superior offensive environments like Bhayshul Tuten and D'Andre Swift.

Also note: Dylan Sampson averaging 2.7 yards per carry was rough … but all the same aforementioned environment issues that impacted Judkins apply here as well. Here's the better news: Sampson flashed as a pass catcher, working among the position's top 2 players in yards and targets per route run. The Browns might have something here! The departure of Jerome Ford really solidifies the 2025 fourth-round pick as the potential primary pass-down threat here *with* additional handcuff upside. That's not too dissimilar from guys like Woody Marks and Tyjae Spears, who both currently go much earlier in drafts.