The Cleveland Browns drafted Quinshon Judkins with the 36th pick in the second round.
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Fantasy Football Impact for Quinshon Judkins of the Cleveland Browns
The Ohio State product, by way of Ole Miss, formed a one-two punch with TreVeyon Henderson that helped the Buckeyes secure a national title. Quinson Judkins, though, has all the makings of a three-down player in a situation with very little competition. Sorry, Jerome Ford truthers (if those exist).
The fantasy implications of this selection can best be summed up by looking at two factors.
- Kevin Stefanski hopes his offense never has to be as pass-happy as it was last season.
- Judkins has the benefit of having served as a lead back, without the mileage.
Since 2021, Cleveland has run on an average of 45.8% of its offensive plays. In 2024, that figure was at 35 percent.
That, my friends, is what you might call an outlier.
Personnel is likely the biggest explanation for the departure. Nick Chubb again dealt with injury, leaving Jerome Ford and D'Onta Foreman as the go-to guys for carries. As a collective, the Browns added -0.10 expected points per rush (sixth-worst) and were deemed successful on 37.9 percent of their 391 rushing attempts.
If you skipped all that, running the ball as little as Cleveland did isn't how it wants to operate. It didn't have much of a choice, though.
Judkins changes that. His time at Ohio State highlighted his explosive and versatile abilities across different schemes. He's entering an offense that ran outside the tackles on 53.7 percent of its carries last season. On his 58 carries outside the tackles in 2024, he averaged 5.38 yards per carry and 3.18 yards after contact per attempt.
During his time at Ole Miss, he was the lead back. He handled 489 carries across the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He averaged 5.15 yards per carry and handled 277 zone attempts.
The Fantasy Football Fallout
Kevin Stefanski's play-action passing approach could improve with a legitimate threat in the backfield for Cleveland. While the pass rate is almost certainly going to decrease, the uptick in efficiency when the Browns do look to throw will help offset the drop in usage for the team's pass catchers.
David Njoku will likely be the biggest fantasy beneficiary from the Judkins selection. When the Stefanski offense is firing on all cylinders, play action is an important component. Play action is only a threat when defenses have to game-plan for a running back.
The disparity in play-action efficiency between 2024 and 2022 helps illustrate this point. Despite running play action on 166 of its passing attempts in 2024 -- the fourth-highest figure in the league -- Cleveland ranked last in expected points added per play-action pass (-0.30).
The last time Cleveland utilized a lead back was in 2022 with Nick Chubb. He totaled 302 attempts. On 133 play-action attempts, the EPA/pass figure hit +0.09.
Let's look at David Njoku's production on play-action attempts in each season and how that correlated with his positional fantasy finishes.
David Nojku on Play Action Targets
| Year | Play Action Targets | EPA/TGT | PPG | Team Pass Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 18 | +0.58 | 10.1 | 52.3% |
| 2024 | 24 | -0.22 | 13.5 | 65% |
While I think Njoku is the biggest fantasy winner here, it's worth noting Amari Cooper was the WR10 in 2022. This is good news for Jerry Jeudy, if you're a believer in his fit as the WR1 here.
In short, when the play-action game is working, the Cleveland pass catchers are fantasy-relevant. Judkins helps with that. Not only does he enter a situation where he's likely the clear lead back, but he'll also impact the rest of the offense. Expect Njoku to provide a safe floor as a mid-to-low-end TE1.
Stock Watch
Risers
Fallers
Overview
There's not much to complain about here. This is an excellent fit for Judkins. It's an excellent fit for fantasy. He is currently ranked as RB34. If he separates from Ford early in the competition for touches, there's big upside here.
For more information on the 2025 NFL Draft, check out the Footballguys Rookie Draft Guide, where you can read all about Cleveland Browns running back Quinshon Judkins and other rookie team fits.
