The NFL season is quickly approaching and fantasy drafts are in full swing. At DraftKings, you can play an array of different season-long fantasy contests.
Below, I take a look at the fantasy value of all of the players in the Cleveland Browns’ backfield.
Cleveland Browns Backfield
The Browns could be in for another rough season. After it seemed as if the franchise was finally on a solid track for the first time in decades, they went all-in on Deshaun Watson, who has been an utter disaster on and off the field since coming to Cleveland. In his three seasons with the Browns, he has never played more than seven games and has been involved in serious controversies off the field. That has caused a rotating cast of Jameis Winston, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Bailey Zappe, PJ Walker, Jeff Driskel, Jacoby Brissett and Joe Flacco to be used at quarterback over the past three seasons. The most successful of those has to be Joe Flacco, who won four of the final five games of the 2023-24 regular season to lead the Browns to a miraculous playoff birth.
After starting eight games for the Colts last season, the 40-year-old Flacco is back in Cleveland. The Browns brought in Flacco and Kenny Pickett during the offseason after it became clear that Watson would likely miss all of the upcoming season. In a bizarre move, they then drafted both Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders in the 2025 NFL Draft. They were one of the teams to controversially pass on Sanders by taking Gabriel, but then took Sanders anyway in a later round. It seemed as if there was a massive battle between ownership and the coaching staff in Cleveland. It is unclear which of these four quarterbacks will even make the Week 1 roster for the Browns, but the smart money is on Joe Flacco to be their Week 1 starter at quarterback.
That much dysfunction around an organization typically affects everybody. Such lackluster quarterback play has particularly affected the running back room. The Browns’ misfortune continued there in 2023 when their star running back Nick Chubb tore his ACL. Chubb returned in 2024, but to little effect. The Browns decided to let Chubb move on during the offseason and he’s now the backup to Joe Mixon in Houston. They have since elevated Chubb’s former backup, Jerome Ford, to the starting running back role. Additionally, they drafted two running backs in 2025 with Quinshon Judkins from Ohio State and Dylan Sampson from Tennessee.
Running Back Handcuffs: Quinshon Judkins or Dylan Sampson
If Joe Flacco manages to play the whole season at quarterback for the Browns at the level he showed in 2023, that will at least provide some stability for their offense. However, the running back group is still a bit of an enigma. Ford was thrust into a big role in 2023 when Nick Chubb suffered a gruesome knee injury, and he led the team in rushing with over 800 yards on the ground. Ford also proved to be an option in the passing game, going for over 300 yards through the air. In 2024, Ford started the year as the RB1, but his role was diminished once Nick Chubb returned to the team. Ford also had some injury issues of his own, only playing 14 games.
With Nick Chubb gone, it is a new era in the running back room for the Browns. Ford will be the veteran of the group, despite still being only 25 years old. Meanwhile, Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson should both get chances to prove themselves. Judkins was an incredible college player at Ole Miss and Ohio State. Despite being in a running back duo with TreVeyon Henderson at Ohio State, Judkins was a 1,000-yard rusher in all three seasons of his college career. Only Ashton Jeanty and RJ Harvey rushed for more yards than Judkins from 2022-2024. He was in prime position to take over this Browns backfield and supplant Jerome Ford by the end of the season, especially with Ford being on a one-year contract.
However, the negative string of events continued for the Browns when Quinshon Judkins faced serious legal allegations over the summer. He has yet to sign a contract with the team due to these looming allegations, and his future with the team and in the league could be in jeopardy. As he has yet to sign a contract, Judkins has not been at training camp. This has opened the door for fourth-round pick Dylan Sampson. Sampson had an incredible final season at Tennessee, finishing ninth in the country with nearly 1,500 rushing yards last season.
Quinshon Judkins can’t be relied upon due to the uncertainty around his future with the team. That means Jerome Ford will likely have a more dominant share of the carries than originally thought. It also makes Dylan Sampson a more surefire handcuff for Ford. Sampson could even be the heir apparent to the RB1 role next season if Judkins is never signed and the Browns don’t re-sign Ford. He is fully capable of being an explosive NFL back and could have a big season if Judkins never sees the field.
