Cleveland Browns select Quinshon Judkins in 2nd round of 2025 NFL Draft

The Cleveland Browns selected Quinshon Judkins in second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. They picked him with the No. 36 overall selection after a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Quinshon Judkins was one of the most dominant running backs in college football the past three seasons and he’s got the stats to prove it. During his first two seasons with the Ole Miss Rebels, Judkins led all SEC running backs in missed tackles forced during his two seasons there (2022 and 2023).

His best season came in 2022, when he exploded onto the scene as a true freshman, finishing with 1,567 rushing yards and setting the Ole Miss single-season rushing yardage record in the process. He was named CBS National Freshman of the Year, as well as earning freshman All-American honors from On3 and multiple other media outlets. His 2,725 career rushing yards with the Rebels ranks third in school history, right behind Deuce McAllister and Joe Gunn.

Judkins posted three straight seasons of over 1,000 rushing yards. In 2022, he became the only running back in college football to have 75-plus missed tackles forced and 90-plus first downs. Not only that, he did that as a true freshman while carrying the rock on less than 50 percent of Ole Miss’ rushing attempts. In 2023, he was named first team All-SEC, after carrying the ball 271 times for 1,158 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns.

In the National Championship Game against Notre Dame, Judkins shined, running for 100 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Ohio State defeated Notre Dame in the 2025 National Championship Game, 34-23.

Even though he split the workload this year with TreVeyon Henderson, Judkins still managed to churn out over 1,000 rushing yards. Together, the duo teamed up to combine for 2,076 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns, to go along with 49 catches for 445 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Both Judkins and Henderson earned third team All-Big Ten Conference honors.

As a high school recruit, Judkins attended Pike Road High School (Pike Road, Alabama), where he was ranked as a three-star recruit according to the On3 Industry Rankings for the 2022 cycle. He was also tabbed as the No. 488 overall player in America, as well as the No. 37 running back in the country, according to those same rankings.

What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Quinshon Judkins

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com is very excited about Judkins’ potential in the National Football League and compares him to Joe Mixon in his scouting profile. Here are his thoughts below.

“Judkins is a productive runner possessing good size and great contact aggression. His running style is both urgent and a bit chaotic. He runs with good burst inside but is more collision-based than wiggle-oriented when maneuvering through the lane. He’s efficient on runs outside the tackle box, but he has a tough time outracing pursuit to create explosive runs,” Zierlein explained.

He also noted that Judkins might need to be paired with another running back at first. But Zierlein noted that he certainly has the tools to become a three-down workhorse back in the National Football League.

“He is wired and built for a heavier carry count and short-yardage success, but the disparity in yards per carry between Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, despite running behind the same line, is telling. Judkins might need to be paired with a slasher, but he has the ingredients needed to become a three-down RB1,” Zierlein finished.