Browns draft Quinshon Judkins: Fantasy Football outlook for 2025, impact on Jerome Ford, and more

Quinshon Judkins was the first running back drafted on Day 2, going before teammate TreVeyon Henderson, who many viewed as a potential Round 1 pick. Judkins’ new team is a mixed bag of a landing spot. It sure looks like Joe Flacco will be their starting quarterback and the offensive line is average at best. On the positive side, Judkins should be able to earn the lion’s share of early down snaps in training camp.

How you feel about Judkins as a running back prospect likely depends on whether you are a film guy or a stat guy. The advanced stats and the more traditional stats paint a less-than-exciting picture, though he did rush for 3,785 yards and 45 touchdowns in three college seasons. We had a great debate about Judkins on Fantasy Football Today Dynasty earlier this month. Matt Waldman and Jacob Gibbs had differing opinions, and I found it enlightening. Check it out:

Dave Richard wrote our pre-draft prospect profile on Judkins and cited his durability, acceleration, and physicality as strengths while questioning his elusiveness, pass protection, and route running. The bottom line for Dave? “Judkins is more than capable of working as a “1A” back in either zone or gap schemes as a strong and well-balanced runner. There’s room for development as far as receiving goes, and he should be encouraged to use his agility more often, but his overall speed, while competitive, keeps him from being a dynamic breakaway gamebreaker. The hunch is that he joins a backfield with the potential to take it over within his first season and stick there for at least four years.”

I am projecting Judkins as a low-end RB2 with upside in 2025. I have concerns that Ford takes more work in the passing game than we would like and the offense isn’t good enough to produce the big touchdown numbers Judkins would need to be a surefire starter. In Dynasty, he’ll check in at RB13, likely a Round 1 pick in most rookie drafts. If he becomes an RB1, which is within the range of possibilities, if could be in the mold of Nick Chubb, a workhorse who relentlessly wears down defenses and occasionally breaks the big one.

What does this mean for the rest of the Browns?

The only Brown who is significantly impacted by Judkins is Jerome Ford. He was primed to be a high-end flex, now he’s more of a desperation flex who could sneak into the top 30 if he happens to catch enough passes. It’s also bad news for former Brown Nick Chubb, who is still without a team. 

There is also a boost here for Joe Flacco, Jerry Jeudy, and David Njoku. Three times in the first 36 picks of the 2025 NFL Draft the Browns passed on quarterbacks and pass catchers. Flacco looks likely to start as many games as he can stay healthy for, Jeudy is a borderline WR2 in redraft, and Njoku is a surefire top 6 tight end.