The Cleveland Browns beat the Las Vegas Raiders by a score of 24-10 with rookie fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders making his first start at quarterback in the NFL and, as expected, all the sports talk that wasn’t already focused on the passer zeroed in on him.
However, it’s a different Cleveland offensive player who’s up for Rookie of the Week honors, after the Browns managed just their third win of the season.
Dylan Sampson, a fourth-round pick out of Tennessee, is one of six rookies nominated for Week 12, joining Titans’ quarterback Cam Ward, Raiders’ running back Ashton Jeanty, Bengals’ linebacker Barrett Carter, Giants’ defensive end Darius Alexander and Texans’ safety Jaylen Reed.
Who should be the Week 12 @pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Week?
Vote now ➡️ https://t.co/aSx1vIATxP pic.twitter.com/kZIzHyOedF
— NFL (@NFL) November 25, 2025
Sampson provided a much needed spark to the Browns anemic passing offense, taking a screen pass 66 yards to the house for Sanders’ only passing score of the game.
He also carried the ball seven times for 23 yards on the ground and returned one kick. Sampson’s touchdown came around the midway point of the fourth quarter, with Cleveland widening the gap to three touchdowns and effectively putting the game out of Las Vegas’ reach thanks to the rookie.
The Browns have relied on a one-two rookie punch for their backfield all season long, with Sampson complementing breakout second-rounder Quinshon Judkins in giving the team their most reliable offensive weapons, along with fellow rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. Judkins scored twice and Fannin led the team with four catches against Las Vegas.
For the season, Sampson has started one game out of 11 played, with 38 carries for 89 yards and 23 catches for 195 yards with two scores. Nonetheless, he is part of a rookie class that could very well lay the foundation for the team -- on both sides of the ball -- for years to come, along with Sanders, Judkins, Fannin and defensive stalwarts Mason Graham and Carson Schwesinger.
The Browns could now make it two-in-a-row after Schwesinger took Rookie of the Week honors just one game ago, for Week 11, thanks to his 11 total stops, two tackles for a loss, one pass defended and one pass intercepted against the Baltimore Ravens during a 23-16 loss.
With Sanders slated to start his second game at quarterback in Week 13 against the San Francisco 49ers, it’ll be up to Sampson and the rest of the crew to, once again, maximize their opportunities and help the franchise find out if their franchise passer is already on the roster, or they need to go out and find one in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft.