The Biggest Question Nobody Is Asking About the Browns (And How They Answer It)

While everybody focuses on the quarterbacks and offensive line, there are still some pending issues in the run game.

Cleveland Browns running back Quinshon Judkins, left, runs drills during the second day of the team’s mandatory minicamp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus, June 10, 2026, in Berea, Ohio. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The battle for the starting quarterback job and the complete rebuilding of the offensive line have taken a hold of the headlines for Cleveland Cleveland throughout most of 2026.

However, there’s still one pending issue that's been overshadowed all offseason long. 

What will the Browns' rushing attack look like under Todd Monken?

The one thing about coach Monken is he’s extremely flexible. There’s no rigid blueprint to work out by just looking at what he’s done in the past. He’s run zone and gap schemes, and he’s adjusted the shared workload depending on the players he’s had at his previous stops. 

In Cleveland, the top of the depth chart belongs to second-year player Quinshon Judkins, but we don't know how the workload will be shared, and/or who gets which complementary roles. 

Logic would dictate Dylan Sampson -- also a second-year back -- as second in line, after starting two of 15 games played last year. That leaves Raheim Sanders, who played four games and started one last year, as the third option.

First question up, is that really enough? 

Judkins looked solid during his rookie year, but he’s coming off a dislocated ankle and fractured fibula from Week 16. Though he participated in the team’s offseason program, and is expected to be a full go for Week 1, some players take time to really get going after such a severe injury. 

Then, efficiency must be taken into account. Judkins carried the ball 230 times for 827 yards with a respectable seven touchdowns. However, a 3.6 yard-per-carry average won’t cut it in the NFL. 

This is actually Monken’s first big decision regarding the running game. As the lead back, how many carries can Judkins actually take per game, while keeping an average of 4.0 or better? Judkins lost steam down the stretch last year, after starting the season with a 4.8 yard-per-carry average or better in three of his first four games. After that, he only reached 4.0 yards-per-carry once, and even dipped below 2.0 yards-per-carry twice. 

This isn’t a new issue, as he averaged less than 4.0 yards per carry in five of nine conference games during the 2024 regular season at Ohio State, while splitting carries with TreVeyon Henderson.

Judkins is a thumper who lacks the open field speed to break off 50 and 60 yarders on a regular basis. That’s supposed to be Sampson’s role. We didn’t see much of that last year, either. 

Sampson only averaged 4.0 yards per carry twice last year, not counting a game where he ripped off a 19-yarder as his only carry in the contest. Where Sampson did show some promise was as a pass-catcher out of the backfield, with 33 catches for 271 yards and two receiving touchdowns. 

Finally, Sanders carried the ball 27 times for 92 yards, a 3.4 yard-per-carry average. He scored one rushing touchdown, in Week 1, while Judkins was suspended, but didn’t really contribute that much after. 

The Browns lost Jerome Ford this offseason, after a 2025 where his stats went down noticeably. Nonetheless, he had become a trustworthy backup for Nick Chubb in previous years. That role might not be completely filled currently on the Browns’ roster. 

What can Cleveland do in the backfield?

At the moment, Sampson looks more like a receiving option out of the backfield, than a true No. 2 capable of shouldering the workload if the starter goes down. 

Given that Judkins’ yard-per-carry average might point to him not being a three-down back, either, the Browns could look at free agent or trade targets to complete the running back room before the season begins. 

Fan favorite Nick Chubb has already left the door open for a possible return by stating "You never know what can happen," at a recent event in Cleveland, and at 30-years old he doesn’t look like a starter anymore. But he could come in as a high volume backup capable of keeping Judkins fresh enough where his efficiency doesn’t drop dramatically as the weeks go by.

Other names still available that could fit this mold could include Najee Harris, Joe Mixon, Antonio Gibson, Raheem Mostert, Alexander Mattison and Miles Sanders, with most of them projecting to cost no more than $1.5 million per season. 

At 30-years old, agreeing to a trade for Alvin Kamara might not be out of the question, as the expected compensation would be a third-day pick, and the base salary for his last year under contract is below the $1.5 million mark, too.

Monken should definitely keep his options open in the backfield, because the current configuration doesn’t really look like a finished product. Yet, this issue has managed to fly under the radar for most of the offseason.