We certainly would not want to douse any of the sudden enthusiasm that has cropped up for the Cleveland Browns here after their first NFL win of the season, a 23-19 slopfest in the Florida heat that saw the team thwart the attempts at vengeance from Buccaneers quarterback, and onetime Cleveland No. 1 pick, Baker Mayfield. But while there are flowers to be handed out all around for this team, especially for quarterback Deshaun Watson and some of his young teammates, there is a persistent concern that showed itself again in Week 2. That would be running back Quinshon Judkins.
Through two weeks, the numbers on Judkins are brutal. He’d shown promise as a breakout back in his rookie year in 2025, before a nasty ankle and leg injury ended his season. He has worked his way back into the starting lineup, but the results have not been there.
Quinshon Judkins Has 54 Yards on 24 Carries
Judkins, after a rough day in Tampa, now has 24 carries on the season, for 54 yards. That’s 2.3 yards per carry, with a long run of nine yards. He has come up with only two first downs rushing, and averaged just 1.8 yards per carry on Sunday. He did well catching the ball out of the backfield, with five catches for 27 yards.
Last season, behind a brutal offensive line, Judkins carried 230 times for 827 yards. His average was not great–3.2 yards per carry–but considering the weakness of the units around him, that was understandable. Judkins still had a brilliant start, averaging 86.8 yards in his first four NFL games.
He has not matched that, and with backup Dylan Sampson out because of an injury, the Browns are leaning on Judkins–and he is not coming through.
Browns Thin at Running Back
At SI.com after Sunday’s game, the Browns running troubles were tabbed a “concerning trend” for the team, and that’s hard to argue. There’s hope, of course, that Judkins just needs more time to rebuild his strength after the injury, but until that happens, the worry persists.
From the site: “While early season issues are expected, losing second-year back Dylan Sampson to injury puts the team in an even more difficult situation. Instead of being able to lean into the two backs the team is most familiar with, Sampson and Judkins, head coach Todd Monken is going to have to give most of the bulk to Judkins and hope that Sanders and Jaleel McLaughlin can have mini breakout spells.
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