The Cleveland Browns shook up the 2025 NFL Drafts moments before it began, trading the No. 2 pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for No. 5 and a smattering of selections that included Nos. 36 and 126.
That gave the Browns a surplus of picks to overhaul their roster, adding seven rookies in the first five rounds. They came away with the draft’s most confusing quarterback situation and a host of contributors.
Among Cleveland’s finds was second-round running back Quinshon Judkins, who figures to be the powerful part of the plan to replace Nick Chubb.
For now, he’s getting acclimated to the league during organized team activities (OTAs) and ensuring everyone remembers who won the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship. In an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Gilberto Manzano, the Browns running back revealed his banter with fellow Cleveland rookies.
“Oh, yeah. All the time. I try not to be too harsh, but I mean sometimes Dillon brings up how they beat us the first time and I’ll just do this to him [flash four fingers] and he’ll shut up,” Judkins said. “Even Mason Graham [who went to Michigan], a lot of us have a little team chemistry, but also, at the same time, there’s a little animosity because we just played each other not too long ago.
“We laugh about the moments at particular points in these games that we played against each other, how we were a part of each other’s journeys, and where we ended up now. So it’s pretty special.”
It isn’t necessarily a coincidence that three of Cleveland’s seven picks participated in the College Football Playoff, and its first-round pick, Graham, won the whole thing with Michigan in 2023. If one has a favorable view of quarterback Shedeur Sanders, his role in turning around Colorado reflects favorably on his leadership, too.
Quarterbacks aside, the Browns found good value across their draft class. Injecting the roster with youth, athleticism, and high-character players, Cleveland hopes its overhaul is a matter of both talent and leadership, bringing about a new culture.
“As a whole, we had a great draft class,” Judkins said. “I think everyone brought attention because of our talent, and our work ethic. Really everybody who came in with that mentality of being ready to work. I feel like for myself, as a competitor and as a player, that was one of my goals.”
As a physically-imposing running back filling the shoes of an icon, Judkins figures to play an outsized role in this team’s fate, both on Sundays and between them.
“When I come to be a Cleveland Brown, I’m coming in to change the organization, contribute, do the best I can. I know what it takes to win, so I’m going to bring that mentality here to Cleveland and do the same thing.”