Jerome Ford or Dylan Sampson: Which Browns RB should I draft in fantasy football 2025 amid Quinshon Judkins' uncertain future?

The 2025 fantasy football season has nearly arrived as many managers are preparing for their upcoming drafts. One situation to keep a close eye on in the coming days is the Cleveland Browns' running back room. Quinshon Judkins' availability is in serious jeopardy, so either Jerome Ford or Dylan Sampson could be their starter. Here's which one is a better pick.

Jerome Ford fantasy outlook

Jerome Ford filled in as the Cleveland Browns' starting running back last year when Nick Chubb went down with an injury. He proved capable of ahndling an elevated role on his way to finishing as the overall RB34 in fantasy football. This includes finishing among the top ten weekly running backs in two of his final three games.

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His fantasy outlook for 2025 took a major hit when the Browns selected Quinshon Judkins in the NFL Draft. His value has been on the rise again recently with the rookie's availability in question. He has yet to officially sign a contract with the Browns as he continues to deal with issues off of the field, so Ford could be a sleeper pick this year.

Dylan Sampson fantasy outlook

The Browns made a bold move during the 2025 NFL Draft when they doubled up on picking running backs. They followed up their selection of Quinshon Judkins by also taking Dylan Sampson later on. With Judkins potentially uinavailable, Sampson could get an earliuer opportunity to prove his value than initially expected.

The rookie is an intriguing pick to potentially target later on in 2025 fantasy football drafts. He showed off his explosive upside during his college football career and could realistically beat out Ford on the Browns depth chart. Sampson appears to have a higher ceiling, but the distribution of touches will likely determine his fantasy outlook.

Jerome Ford vs Dylan Sampson: Who should I draft in fantasy football?

Managers targeting upside in the later rounds of 2025 fantasy football drafts would be wise to pick Dylan Sampson in favor of Jerome Ford. It's unlcear which of them will get the bulk of the workload if Quinshon Judkins is unavailable, but the rookie seems to have a much higher ceiling.

Decisions like this one can be simplified by using Sportskeeda's Who Should I Draft tool. This gives managers fantasy projections and draft suggestions by comparing various options. Using it regularly can give a serious edge over the rest of the league.

About the author

Adam Hulse is an NFL journalist at Sportskeeda with 4 years of experience. He is also the host of the podcast "Sports Talk with Adam Hulse."

Adam studied Communications at Villanova University and played American football at Pop Warner and as a high school Freshman. His favorite team are the Dallas Cowboys, and if Adam could lay his hands on a time machine, he would love to witness their glory years from the 1990s. The Cowboys' 27-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX is his favorite Super Bowl of all time.

Given his affinity for 'America's Team,' Adam's favorite players of all time include Emmitt Smith. Michael Irvin, Tony Romo and Dak Prescott.

Adam takes a lot of pride in his work, which naturally culminates into insightful content for his readers, performance analysis being his forte. When not writing about football, Adam spends a time on his podcast.

Know More

Cleveland Browns Nation! Check out the latest Cleveland Browns Schedule and dive into the Browns Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.

Edited by Adam Hulse