How two former Buckeyes are leading the way among rookie running backs in the NFL

The Ohio State Buckeyes’ program is well consolidated as one of the premier talent factories providing top-shelf talent to the NFL.

One look at the elite prospects at positions such as wide receiver, edge rusher, linebacker, cornerback and offensive lineman that the school has sent to the pros will tell you all you need about the importance of Ohio State for the yearly draft process.

However, during this 2025 NFL season, a pair of running backs have made their marks as breakout rookies for their respective teams, after being selected in the second round, just two picks apart.

The Cleveland Browns’ Quinshon Judkins (36th overall) and his former backfield mate, New England Patriots’ TreVeyon Henderson (38th overall), are currently first and second among rookies in rushing yards for the season.

A pair of former Ohio State teammates top the rookie rushing leaderboard 🌰 pic.twitter.com/ZkPhqt0O3T
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) December 17, 2025

In Judkins case, he’s had to deal with spotty offensive line play and a revolving door at quarterback as the team’s undisputed starter all season, but he’s still somehow managed to produce 805 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns on 222 carries, adding 142 yards on 21 catches.

Judkins is currently eighth in the NFL in carries among all backs -- first among rookies -- showing a workhorse quality fit for a Nick Chubb successor. The Wildcat formation has become an integral part of Judkins contributions in Cleveland, and his best performance to date is a three-touchdown game against the Miami Dolphins.

Meanwhile, Henderson has had the luxury of playing for a much better franchise with one of the best quarterbacks in the league right now in Drake Maye, but has been afforded the opportunity of starting just four out of the 14 games he’s appeared in.

Nonetheless, he’s produced 773 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns on 143 carries, adding 212 yards and another score on 34 receptions. That puts him fourth in the NFL among all running backs with at least 100 carries, with a very healthy 5.4 yard per carry average. Henderson has already logged a 148-yard two-touchdown performance, and a 147-yard two-touchdown performance, showing off his big play ability.

Henderson now leads betting odds for the Offensive Rookie of the Year Ward, with Judkins not too far back.

After watching them rack up over 1,000 rushing yards and double digit touchdowns last year for Ohio State, on route to a National Championship Game victory by pounding Notre Dame into submission, it’s hardly a surprise that Judkins and Henderson are doing so well at the next level, despite their different circumstances.

With three games to go, neither of them is even at the halfway point of the NFL’s rookie rushing record, set by Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson for the Los Angeles Rams in 1983 with an astonishing 1,808 yards on 390 unworldly carries in a 16 game schedule. Yet, this pair of Buckeyes is clearly outshining the rest of the rookie running back class, despite not being the first ones selected.

Las Vegas Raiders’ Ashton Jeanty, selected sixth overall, has 700 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 200 carries. Picked at 22nd overall, Omarion Hampton has rushed the ball only 94 times for 431 yards and four touchdowns, after spending some time on injured reserve. Hampton currently ranks seventh among first year running backs.

Despite a legacy that includes names like Matt Snell, Robert Smith, Eddie George and Ezekiel Elliott, running backs aren’t the first position that pops up when talking about the Ohio State talent pipeline to the pros.

Judkins and Henderson are working hard to change that.