Browns May Field an Unexpected RB1 for the 2025 NFL Season

The Cleveland Browns' quarterback competition has been the main story for the team's preseason, but it's not their only notable positional battle.

Jul 23, 2025; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski lines up against the offense during training camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns have been busy trying to identify a starting quarterback for the 2025 NFL season. They likely lost Deshaun Watson for the entire campaign when he re-ruptured his Achilles tendon last winter. In response, they brought in four different candidates to take over his vacant QB1 spot this offseason.

Joe Flacco is the favorite to be their Week 1 starter against the Cincinnati Bengals, but Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders are still trying to earn favor from Head Coach Kevin Stefanski and the rest of Cleveland's staff. Gabriel will get the start in their second preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He'll have to bring his A-game to make up the ground he lost against Shedeur Sanders, after the latter completed 14-of-23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns against the Carolina Panthers in the Browns' first exhibition, with Gabriel and Pickett sidelined with hamstring injuries.

Quarterback isn't the only question mark along Cleveland's roster, though, nor is it the only positional battle happening within the team. The Browns are desperate to identify reliable playmakers on offense outside of wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. They may have found one in an unlikely starter at running back.

Browns running back Dylan Sampson carries the ball during rookie minicamp, May 9, 2025, in Berea. | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Dylan Sampson may emerge as the Cleveland Browns' starting running back for the 2025 NFL season

The Cleveland Browns made waves when they selected both Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders in the 2025 NFL Draft, adding two more quarterbacks to compete for their starting spot with veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett. That's not the only position they doubled up on in the draft, though.

They also picked both Quinshon Judkins out of Ohio State and Tennessee Volunteers running back Dylan Sampson in the second and fourth rounds. That decision didn't raise as many red flags considering the Browns lost 2024 starter Nick Chubb in free agency.

A wrench was thrown in the works when Judkins was arrested for domestic violence in Florida, though. While all charges have been dropped, he's yet to sign with the Browns and hasn't been practicing due to his legal issues. The NFL itself is still reviewing the incident, and Judkins could still face consequences from the league depending on its findings.

In his absence, Sampson has steadily impressed in training camp. The Sporting News' Billy Heyen believes that he'll be the Browns' RB1 come Week 1:

"Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski approaches joint practices as the most important part of the week, more so than the preseason game on the weekend. And so the decisions he makes in joint practices can be very informative.

In this case, the first running back on the field both days vs. the Eagles was Dylan Sampson.

The rookie out of Tennessee looks primed to hold down RB1 duties for the Browns if nothing changes."

Jerome Ford was solid last year filling in for Nick Chubb while he was out with injury, but rookie Dylan Sampson offers more tantalizing potential. In his junior year, he put up SEC-high numbers with 258 rushes for 1,491 yards and 22 touchdowns for the Volunteers.

Judkins could quickly rise to the top of the depth chart upon his return if the NFL doesn't suspend him. Head Coach Kevin Stefanski could also ultimately lean on Ford due to his experience. But so far, Dylan Sampson has taken full advantage of his opportunities in the Browns' backfield.