The Cleveland Browns made a ton of upgrades to the offense this offseason in an effort to make major improvements to what was arguably the league’s worst offense over the last two years. New head coach Todd Monken is a proven offensive-minded leader and will now have an entirely rebuilt offensive line and plenty of new weapons to work with as long as he can get the quarterback position figured out.
One aspect of the offense that might not be getting talked about enough is the running game. Monken just led some of the most prolific rushing attacks in NFL history with the Baltimore Ravens, and with a now-healthy Quinshon Judkins hungry to break out in his sophomore campaign, there is reason to believe he could be the focal point of this entire offense in 2026.
During a recent episode of the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show, Tyvis Powell spoke about how much he believes in Judkins. He believes Judkins was figuring things out late last year and is ready to take a big step forward so the team can lean heavily on him to lead the running game.
“A lot of my stock is on Quinshon Judkins this year. I really think that that was a guy who was really figuring out the league, and to have no training camp, and to have the impact that he had. I think that he’s gonna take that next step. To me, this team will be heavy on the run game—heavily leaning on Quinshon Judkins. I expect him to have a really good year,” Powell said.
A lot of @1Tyvis‘ stock is in Quinshon Judkins 📈🏈
Tyvis says the #Browns RB made a big impact last season despite not being a part of Training Camp, which has him excited for Year 2 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/X0F2IBCED5
— Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show (@ultCLEsports) June 24, 2026
Judkins ran for 827 yards and seven touchdowns in 14 games as a rookie before suffering a gruesome ankle injury late in the year. Given the circumstances he had to work with, it was a strong rookie campaign that should have left no doubt about whether or not Judkins can be the next star running back in Cleveland.
Cleveland was busy this offseason, but the running back room is the position group with the most continuity from last year. Judkins and fellow sophomore back Dylan Sampson are projected to handle the bulk of the workload with Raheim Sanders returning as the third-stringer and undrafted rookie Ahmani Marshall out of Appalachian State attempting to carve out a spot behind them.
The best way to build a strong offense when you don’t know who your quarterback is is to lean on the running game. With a healthy and motivated Judkins gearing up for a huge year, Browns fans should feel confident about this development.
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