Fantasy Football Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft: Quinshon Judkins (Pick 1.06)

The Nick Chubb era ended too early for fantasy managers and the Cleveland Browns. Chubb rushed for 6,843 yards and chipped in another 1,000 yards as a receiver in seven seasons.

He finished 431 rushing yards shy of Leroy Kelly for second on Cleveland's all-time rushing list, but Chubb played 51 fewer games than Kelly.

Chubb is moving on to play for the Houston Texans. To replace him, the Browns two rookies -- Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson.

With the No. 6 pick of a PPR rookie dynasty draft, I recommend targeting Judkins.

Pick 1.06: RB Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns

The Browns had a theme in the 2025 NFL Draft -- draft in pairs. Cleveland grabbing quarterback Shedeur Sanders after already taking Dillon Gabriel stole all the headlines, but the Browns also drafted two running backs -- Judkins and Sampson.

Of course, drafting a pair of backs is quite different than selecting two quarterbacks. Judkins and Sampson may split opportunities in Cleveland's backfield.

Whichever runner is not the future starter is likely to be involved. Browns head coach Kevin Stefansi likes using multiple running backs even when he has stars such as Chubb.

For now, veteran Jerome Ford sits atop of the Browns running back depth chart. But with a talent such as Judkins, its worth wondering how long that will be the case.

Judkins rushed for three 1,000-yard seasons for two different schools in his college career. He started in school on a huge hight note with 1,567 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns at Ole Miss. Splitting time with fellow incoming rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson, who was the No. 5 selection in my rookie PPR dynasty mock draft, Judkins ran for 1,060 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2024.

But most impressively, Judkins averaged more than a touchdown per game in school, scoring 45 times in 42 games.

He isn't entering the NFL with as much explosiveness as some of the other rookie running backs. That was a concern with Judkins during the draft process, particularly with the intrigueness of his backfield mate also available in the draft class.

"He is wired and built for a heavier carry count and short-yardage success, but the disparity in yards per carry between Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, despite running behind the same line, is telling," NFL.com's Lance Zierlein wrote. "Judkins might need to be paired with a slasher, but he has the ingredients needed to become a three-down RB1."

That could make Cleveland, though, the ideal landing spot for Judkins. Looking at the numbers, it appears as though Stefanski's offense struggled the run the ball, and that's true.

But really, the lower rushing totals were in part due to the lack of opportunities. Ford, a former fifth-round pick, averaged 5.4 yards per carry for Cleveland last season.

To confirm Judkins is worthy of the sixth overall pick in rookie dynasty formats, fantasy managers should follow Cleveland's running back pecking order this preseason. Ford has a good chance to open the season as the starter, but Judkins has a much higher pedigree as a higher draft pick.

Cleveland's offense could also be limiting to any of the unit's fantasy assets because of the quarterback situation. But that's another subject to follow as the summer goes.

Rookie quarterbacks become stars regularly in the league today. If that happens in Cleveland this fall, Judkins' value could rise considerably.