Maybe it’s because he made the Pro Bowl as a rookie, but Shedeur Sanders won’t be the Browns’ breakout candidate, Zac Jackson predicts. The Cleveland beat writer for The Athletic offered another name instead, a fellow draft classmate. While it’s up in the air whether Sanders will start, RB Quinshon Judkins will play a huge role on offense.
A 2025 second-round pick, Quinshon Judkins rushed for 827 yards in 14 games with 7 touchdowns. He only averaged 3.6 yards per attempt, however, with a run success rate of 40.9 percent. Now, the Browns’ offensive line has a lot to do with that, as does the season-long quarterback play, beginning with Joe Flacco and ending with Sanders. But the second-year back has the best chance to take a leap for the Browns, Jackson believes, writing:
Judkins missed all of training camp last summer while dealing with an assault charge that was eventually dropped. He started in Week 2, just eight days and three practices after signing, and immediately showed why the Browns consider him such a big part of their future. A fractured fibula and dislocated ankle last December ended his first NFL season, but he was ahead of his rehab schedule in the spring and figures to be featured in new coach Todd Monken’s offense. Judkins has to be healthy and has to learn to play on the pass downs he couldn’t last year due to his summer absence, but he’s going to get plenty of chances to prove he’s an explosive and reliable runner at the game’s highest level.
Monken comes over from the Ravens, where he’s had Derrick Henry the past two seasons. You know as the Browns’ head coach, he’ll want to get what he can out of Quinshon Judkins, even if he purports to believe that both Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson are starter-worthy quarterbacks.
The Browns drafted Sanders in the fifth round a year ago, and he eventually became their third starting quarterback for the season. Beginning with Flacco, Cleveland benched and later traded him. He first gave way to Dillon Gabriel, Cleveland’s third-round pick. After Gabriel suffered an injury, they used the opportunity to allow Sanders to take the job over.
Right now, there is debate as to is leading the Browns’ quarterback competition, some believing that Watson has the lead but that Sanders is closing the gap. What there’s no doubt about, though, is that Judkins is the Browns’ bell-cow running back. Even with a truncated offseason and missing three games, he recorded 256 touches as a rookie. And with an actual opportunity to practice throughout the spring, he should be prepared to hit the ground running in his second season.
As for why Shedeur Sanders isn’t the Browns’ breakout candidate, well, it probably starts with the fact that it’s not clear that he’ll even play. If he does end up starting, he would have to be considered. But he has so much to prove first, no matter what fans of his name want to believe.
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