Quinshon Judkins or Dylan Sampson or Jerome Ford: Which Browns RB should I start vs. Ravens in Week 2?

The Cleveland Browns have begun a new era at running back in the 2025 season.

Multiple-time Pro Bowler Nick Chubb is gone, having taken the opposite direction of Deshaun Watson and joined the Houston Texans to back up Joe Mixon. In his place is a committee approach.

Veteran Jerome Ford is now joined by a pair of rookies who, if coached well, may each become key contributors -- Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson. As they prepare to visit their “successor” franchise, the Baltimore Ravens, on Sunday, who has the most fantasy upside among the three?

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Quinshon Judkins vs. Dylan Sampson vs. Jerome Ford Week 2 fantasy preview and outlook

Quinshon Judkins did not record a single statistic against the Cincinnati Bengals last week, so little can be gleaned from him based on that game. However, Ford and Sampson did play, so this analysis will largely focus on them.

Los Angeles Rams v Cleveland Browns - NFL Preseason 2025 - Source: Getty

Based on his output so far, Ford is not someone to trust. The Bengals are considered to have one of the weakest defenses in the league, yet they managed to hold him to six yards on eight carries, finishing a lowly RB35.

Not long ago, he performed well as an emergency starter after Chubb’s horrific injury, but he could not even crack double digits against a unit routinely blown out by elite teams.

Cincinnati Bengals v Cleveland Browns - NFL 2025 - Source: Getty

He is fortunate not to have started, because Sampson was not much better despite finishing as RB9 and catching eight passes for 64 yards. On the ground, he was limited to only 29 yards on 12 carries.

And just in case fantasy owners think it cannot get any worse, it can. The Ravens have a dominant run-stopping core that includes tackles Travis Jones and Nnamdi Madubuike, and linebackers Roquan Smith and Trenton Simpson.

This will likely force head coach Kevin Stefanski to lean more on the passing game, but Baltimore’s secondary is also deep and capable of shutting down targets anywhere, anytime.

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Which Browns RB should I start in Week 2: Quinshon Judkins, Dylan Sampson, or Jerome Ford?

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It certainly looks bad for the Browns, who may be kept out of the end zone the entire afternoon -- or worse, shut out. Nevertheless, for those still insisting on starting a Cleveland running back, Sampson is the best bet, according to the Sportskeeda Start/Sit Optimizer.

He fits best as a FLEX option given the receiving potential he showed Sunday, even though Ford has the higher projection in that metric at 13.5 yards -- the only one in double digits among the group.

As for Judkins, he is expected to finally play, giving fantasy managers their first real opportunity to evaluate him.