The Cleveland Browns are gearing up for what is expected to be an exciting 2026 campaign.
Headlined by newly signed head coach Todd Monken, the Browns are expected to make significant changes throughout the roster as the offseason continues to tick away. While the discussion surrounding who the team’s starting quarterback should be draws most of the eyeballs, what happens in the backfield should garner some interest as well.
Back in the 2025 campaign, the Browns sported two talented running backs in Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson, both of whom were taken in last year’s draft.
Immediately, it became obvious that Judkins was far and away the better runner, as his size and physicality allowed him to take shot after shot and keep trudging forward. However, Judkins’ quick rise thrust Sampson onto the back burner.
Even when he showed glimpses that he was a top talent, someone who, with a catch, a juke and a dash, could burn defenses, the coaching staff seemed to always forget him on the bench.
Heading into the 2026 campaign, Monken should take a deeper look at Sampson and find a way to make him more involved in the offense.
Drafting Sampson in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft wasn’t just a sign that the Browns saw something in him, but also showed that they valued speed at the running back position.
For a team that has always had some of the league’s best physical runners, with Nick Chubb standing out as one of the organization’s all-time greats in that realm, Sampson was nearly the exact opposite of that mold. Instead of utilizing him as a contact-first back, he possesses a knack for catching passes, getting outside the hashes, and exploding with speed.
In his junior season with the Tennessee Volunteers, Sampson took 258 carries for an incredible 1,491 yards and 22 touchdowns. On average, he was putting up roughly six yards a carry and nearly 115 rushing yards a game.
But it wasn’t just the rushing attack.
In the passing game, he got involved with 143 yards on 20 receptions, primarily being used as a dump-off target. He would average 7.2 yards a catch, which showed that, yet again, with the ball in his hands, he could get upfield.
With the Browns last season, he took a backseat to Judkins, who was on pace to make a run at the NFL’s Rookie of the Year award before suffering a lower-body injury. But although he didn’t get as much action in the backfield, taking 65 rushes for 175 yards, he did average 8.2 yards per catch for 271 total receiving yards and two scores.
Cleveland’s coaching staff tried using Sampson like Judkins, running him up the gut, which isn’t his playstyle. However, when they leaned into his strengths and got him outside the hashes, he showed that he could make plays come to life.
As the offseason continues to tick away, the Browns’ coaching staff should be closely monitoring Sampson’s growth as a player.
If he can put on a bit more weight and beef himself up, yes, they can try to shape him into a more physical back. But if not, they should lean into his speed and athleticism, helping relieve Judkins more often when he returns from injury, bringing a strong one-two punch back to Cleveland’s running back room.
In turn, finding ways to get the football in the hands of Sampson more often will put less stress and wear and tear on Judkins, who already showed that such a heavy, physical workload broke down his body.
And with the quarterback position still being a major question mark, Cleveland can’t afford to have a weak and injury-riddled running back room.
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