Todd Monken had the advantage of running Derrick Henry with the Baltimore Ravens, but he had a solid backup running back as well in Keaton Mitchell, whom he used in a variety of ways, particularly as an explosive change of pace back. Could he use second-year man Dylan Sampson in a similar manner with the Cleveland Browns?
Mitchell and Sampson have similar physical and athletic profiles.
Keaton Mitchell RAS
Dylan Sampson RAS
Sampson is bigger, but Mitchell has a slight edge in terms of speed and explosiveness. Despite going undrafted in 2023, Mitchell has carved out a nice role for himself in the Baltimore offense as a change-of-pace back, at least when he's on the field. Mitchell is a slight back, and he's dealt with durability issues, missing 25 games over the past three seasons. Sampson missed two games towards the end of the year, but was otherwise mostly healthy as a rookie.
Between the two, Mitchell is the better runner right now. Sampson's dismal 2.7 yards per carry average in 2025 wasn't entirely his fault, as he accumulated more yards after contact than before. It wasn't as insane a distribution as Quinshon Judkins dealt with, but Sampson's decisiveness between the tackles could stand to improve. Mitchell is better in that area (though he also benefitted from superior run blocking) and is more explosive when running outside.