Maybe it\u2019s because he made the Pro Bowl as a rookie, but Shedeur Sanders won\u2019t be the Browns\u2019 breakout candidate, Zac Jackson predicts. The Cleveland beat writer for The Athletic offered another name instead, a fellow draft classmate. While it\u2019s up in the air whether Sanders will start, RB Quinshon Judkins will play a huge role on offense.<\/p>\n
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\u2019 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,<\/a> Jackson believes, writing:<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, but he was ahead of his rehab schedule in the spring and figures to be featured in new coach Todd Monken\u2019s offense. Judkins has to be healthy and has to learn to play on the pass downs he couldn\u2019t last year due to his summer absence, but he\u2019s going to get plenty of chances to prove he\u2019s an explosive and reliable runner at the game\u2019s highest level.<\/p>\n Monken comes over from the Ravens, where he\u2019s had Derrick Henry the past two seasons. You know as the Browns\u2019 head coach, he\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s third-round pick. After Gabriel suffered an injury, they used the opportunity to allow Sanders to take the job over.<\/p>\n