Browns’ Quinshon Judkins making his case as the NFL’s best rookie running back

Browns rookie running back Quinshon Judkins has been making his presence felt in a huge way over the past two weeks, with efficient games against both the Ravens and Packers. After being away from the team for quite a while heading into week 2, he immediately jumped in and displayed why Cleveland was so high on him leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft.

He has top-notch footspeed and short-area agility that consistently allows him to stop and cut on a dime without slowing his forward momentum. There have been multiple instances where a defender will take a great angle and effectively set the edge, but Judkins simply hops inside and continues downfield.

Here’s a great example of this against Green Bay from week 3:

There are a lot of running backs who would’ve been stopped at the line of scrimmage there, but not Judkins. The fact that he can move like this at 220 pounds is insane.

His above-average acceleration can also be attributed to his short, choppy steps once he breaks into the open field. Though a player with his overall skillset will likely never be a true “home run threat”, he has more than enough speed to burst downfield for chunk yardage.

When it comes to how he compares to the rest of the league’s rookie ball-carriers, Judkins is leading the pack despite playing fewer games in 2025.

Amongst NFL rookie running backs, Judkins currently ranks:

• 1st in rushing yards with 155
• 3rd in yards per carry average (over 10 attempts) with 5.5
• 3rd in longest rush with 38 yards
• 1st in 20+ yard runs with 2
• 1st in rushing yards per game with 77.5
• 2nd in rushing 1st-downs with 8
• 1st in RYOE/ATT (Rush yards over expected per attempt) with 2.01 yards

Aside from being at the top in most major rushing statistics right now, Judkins has shown excellent vision and anticipation at the line of scrimmage. He does a great job of being patient on zone runs, consistently allowing blockers to get movement before accelerating through a hole. Judkins also recognizes cutback lanes and will “lean” or hug one side of a hole to influence defenders to overpursue, potentially giving himself more options at the 2nd level.

It’s kind of what he did on this long run against the Packers.

Obviously, Nick Chubb will be incredibly hard to replace in this offense, but Quinshon Judkins has shown the most potential so far as a true runner. If he continues on this path for Cleveland, there’s a good chance that we’ll see his name in the running for Offensive Rookie of the Year at the end of the season.

How do you think Judkins has performed so far? Join fellow Browns fans in the comment section below.