Quinshon Judkins: Rising NFL Star with Workhorse Upside for 2025

This article series will look at 2025 NFL rookies and break down the full scope of their situation – their talent level and their projected opportunity – and weigh its merits against the emerging ADPs of those rookies following the NFL Draft.

This article will look at Quinshon Judkins, the Ohio State running back selected in the second round (36th overall) by the Cleveland Browns. As of Wednesday the ADP on Underdog listed Judkins at 74.3, which is around the beginning of the seventh round.

Previous posts in series: Dallas Cowboys running back Jaydon Blue (here), Chicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden (here), and New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson (here).

Evaluate trades or get ready for a first-year draft with fantasy football dynasty rankings on RotoWire.

SKILL SET

Judkins (6-0, 221) is often referred to as something of a Throwback or Bruiser running back, but it would be more accurate to call him a complete, modern running back. There are running backs who only have power in their game, and Judkins is often portrayed as one, but Judkins has plenty more to offer than pure power.

Perhaps Judkins' speed isn't the first thing you notice – perhaps it's the remarkable violence that you most vividly recall – but Judkins is absolutely an explosive runner, even if he hits the defense like a bag of hammers. 

Judkins finished his collegiate career with only 5.1 yards per carry, but (A) this was largely informed by a high percentage of short-yardage and power plays, which objectively feature lower rushing averages than in-space plays or downs with long distances, and (B) the average is weighed down significantly by the 4.3 yards per carry from Judkins' 2023 sophomore year, when he played an unknown amount of time with an undisclosed injury early in the year (he was initially called doubtful for a game against Georgia Tech but suited up anyway).

It's important to note that Judkins scored on 6.1 percent of his collegiate carries over 739 carries, and on 7.2 percent of his 194 carries at Ohio State. In other words, if Judkins had played at Ohio State for three years instead of one his numbers would very likely have been better yet, both in terms of yards per carry and touchdown rate. High-volume power backs who average 6.0 yards per carry in college are rare – that's a class generally reserved for elite prospects like Nick Chubb, Derrick Henry and Jonathan Taylor – and Judkins probably isn't one of those guys. There's no shame in that, though, and Judkins can still be one of the best pure runners in the NFL.

The real question for Judkins' NFL and fantasy upside is the question of how well he can catch passes. Judkins generally ceded this work at Ohio State to TreVeyon Henderson, and at Mississippi their offense was so run-heavy there just generally wasn't much passing-down work to be done after all the running.

It's true that Judkins is somewhat unproven as a receiver, but he has done well with his opportunities to this point and looks the part on tape. I'd argue Judkins projects totally fine for passing-down tasks, and might even be good at it. He finished his collegiate career with 59 receptions for 442 yards and five touchdowns on 72 targets, good for a catch rate of 81.9 percent at 6.1 yards per target.

It might be reasonable to worry that Judkins' power-oriented rushing workload could prove so exhausting he can't contribute substantial snaps in the passing game – something like this happened with Nick Chubb, who is actually a good receiver despite his modest numbers in that capacity – but Judkins failing as a receiver seems unlikely, and if he does get the opportunity to catch passes there's reason to think he'll seize it.

Head to our advanced fantasy football stats page for advanced NFL stats such aDOT, catch rate, YAC% and more to help you make the best player evaluation decisions.

ATHLETICISM

Judkins' 4.48-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine was a very good time for a player with his skill set, because it shows he has real speed to pair with his otherwise obvious power. You can bank on Judkins' power variables yielding more yardage than in the case of other running backs, so if he can match or exceed the speed of those same running backs then it's just a rout. According to Mockdraftable, Judkins' 4.48 ranks 75th percentile among running backs and his 10-yard split (1.51) was even better at 85th percentile.

That's a lot of explosiveness for a defense to deal with in general, so when you factor in Judkins' tackle-breaking ability it's easy to see how he should continue to run away from defenders at the NFL level. For what it's worth, Judkins' height, weight and athletic testing are almost identical to that of 22nd overall pick Omarion Hampton – Judkins is 1/8 of an inch shorter at the same weight (221), while Hampton ran a 4.46 40.

Judkins can run very slightly upright at times – his height percentile (69th) just narrowly registers under his weight percentile (73rd) – but Judkins is flexible and adept at generating momentary anchor by getting low in anticipation of contact. Judkins can generate extreme torque from squat-like positions and easily transition from that anchored stance into a cut or a sprint, complementing his raw power with consistently good leverage to keep defenders on poor footing.

Judkins isn't extensively tested as a receiver, but on the routes he did run he showed good hands with a high catch rate, and a player as flexible as him should be sufficient at adjusting to throws. This part of Judkins' game is a bit of a projection, but to this point he has done well as a receiver and there's reason to think he has the necessary athletic traits to project sufficiently well as a pass catcher.

How does Quinshon Judkins stack up against the rest of the NFL? Visit our fantasy football half-PPR rankings for a list of the top players.

COMPARISON AND 2025 PROJECTION

Judkins is fairly unique for his overall aesthetic and set of traits, but his application to the NFL is conventionally easy because he's good at pretty much everything and boasts an uncommon overall sum of talents. Like mentioned previously, his height/weight/speed comparison is somewhat objectively Omarion Hampton, but their vibes are definitely a little different.

Judkins has a complete three-down skill set, but his most unique trait might be his combination of tackle-breaking and explosiveness. Judkins is prepared to apply force in the face of contact, and his ability to set a heavy anchor with plus balance allows him to slip off the tacklers he doesn't overpower with raw strength.

COMPARISON: Judkins is faster and subjects himself to less punishment, but when you look at his frame, balance, power and burst Judkins looks a lot like Marion Barber (RIP). Barber burned fast due to breaking an outrageous number of tackles, but Judkins should boast that sort of tackle-breaking ability, even if he doesn't need to resort to it as often as Barber did.

2025 PROJECTION AND ADP: Judkins' current ADP on Underdog is 74.3. That makes the nearest running backs TreVeyon Henderson (64.4), James Conner (66.5), David Montgomery (70.4), Kaleb Johnson (76.4) and Tony Pollard (79.0).

The Browns will likely be a mediocre offense at best in 2025, but it should still be better than the 2024 one, potentially by a good amount. Judkins has workhorse upside in that offense, which you can probably only say about Conner and Pollard otherwise in that ADP range. Kevin Stefanski wants to call a run-heavy offense and, while Jerome Ford is a solid player who could take the most valuable passing-down reps, there's still major usage upside for Judkins in 2025. 

Fellow rookie Dylan Sampson (193.5 ADP) is in my opinion not a serious threat to either of Judkins or Ford. Ford (207.7) is actually going much later than Sampson, which I don't think will age well. Sampson is very raw in passing situations and as a pure runner he simply has nothing on Judkins. Even though Sampson is much smaller at 200 pounds, his pro day 40 time of 4.46 is actually worse than Judkins' 4.48 from the slower Combine track.

To me, Sampson's price is clearly wrong and he's unlikely to play much in 2025 if Judkins and Ford both stay healthy. If the market were to all of a sudden agree with this premise then it would probably result in an ADP boost for Judkins, because his current 74.3 ADP is presupposing some significant level of opportunity for Sampson. If Sampson doesn't actually get that opportunity – and I really doubt he does – then it's an easily theorized windfall for Judkins investors at this current price. (Of course, it would also be a boon for Ford investors).

The basic deal with Judkins is that he should be one of the best running backs in the NFL very soon, potentially even this year. The Browns know they can't win shootouts, so a ground-heavy game plan is in order and only Judkins gives Cleveland a means of implementing that plan. It's true that the sledding could be tough given Cleveland's weak passing game and potentially challenging AFC North schedule, but the Browns offense doesn't have any realistic way to conduct itself without giving a significant cut of its usage to Judkins specifically.

For now, Sampson is likely just a developmental draw back while Ford handles most of the running back work that doesn't occur from scrimmage. The current ADP does not believe this is true, so if it is true then it's only an additional reason to find Judkins palatable at his current price.

For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, news and everything going on around the NFL, head to RotoWire's NFL Fantasy Football News Today or follow @RotoWireNFL on X.