BEREA, Ohio — Former Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins got a chance to show off his speed and agility the moment the Browns drafted him at No. 36.
He was out of the room getting a cup of lemonade when Browns GM Andrew Berry called with the great news.
“I ran back really fast,” he said.
But the Browns already knew how quick, shifty and explosive he was. In fact, he reminds them in some ways of the great Nick Chubb, whom they might re-sign after the draft.
“His physicality, his contact balance, the way he runs with strength is something I’ve seen in Nick as an example,” Browns assistant GM Catherine Hickman said shortly after the pick. “I’m not saying that this is Nick, as what Nick means to this organization is beyond words. But what I’m saying here is this style of play is just going to fit very nicely with what we’re trying to do.”
The way Browns assistant GM Glenn Cook described Judkins, whom the chose over his backfield mate TreVeyon Henderson, also sounded a lot like the Browns’ four-time Pro Bowler and fan favorite
“He’s so big, he’s so strong and you think about when you get down to the goal line, the field shrinks and you want a guy who can honestly just power through tackles and change the line of scrimmage on his own,” Cook said. “Sometimes you just can’t block it perfectly. The defense tries to tighten up. So I think that’s a component to it. And also he’s just really talented. You talk about a kid who’s 5-11, 220, squats over 600 pounds, runs under 4.5. So honestly he’s just a very gifted individual.”
It just so happens that Judkins has watched and admired Chubb, and can’t wait to learn from him if Chubb, a free agent, returns.
“Definitely you watch his success in college and in his career as far as what he’s done in the NFL as well,” Judkins said. “He’s an older guy in the league and I feel like that’s a guy that you can always learn more from and he has a lot of tools in his bag and things that he can teach to young guys like me.”
Glenn noted that Judkins, who led the Buckeyes in rushing last season with 1,060 yards and 14 TDs, is the perfect, rugged AFC North back, just like his predecessor.
“We’re playing a division where there’s some really good defenses that we’re going to face and their mantra is to stop the run game and get after the quarterback,” Cook said. “So when you can have someone who can be just as physical as the guys he’s going against, it only helps.”
Judkins spent his first two seasons at Ole Miss in 2022 and 2023 before transferring to Ohio State last season, where he tied for league lead with 16 touchdowns, including 14 rushing. Over his three-year career, he rushed for 3,785 yards, 45 rushing touchdowns, 50 total touchdowns and 59 receptions for 442 yards and five scores.
“He transferred up here into the Buckeye State, and he brings the brand of AFC North football that we want back, exceptionally strong, physical, tough, productive three down guy,” Cook said. “I know (running backs coach Duce Staley) was extremely excited. He wanted to drive down and pick him up tonight.”
Cook declined to elaborate on why the Browns opted for Judkins over Henderson, who went No. 38 to the Patriots.
“I don’t want to make it a TreVeyon vs. Quinshon,” Cook said. “For us, it’s really just feeling good about what Quinshon brings to our offense. You obviously know what we’ll probably transition to (a wide zone scheme), and so just his style of ball, the way he plays, again, I want to focus mostly on him and not to make it an A vs. B comparison.”
Cook acknowledged that Judkins will need to develop as a receiver out of the backfield, but he did catch 22 passes for 161 yards and two TDs for the national champion Buckeyes.
“He’s definitely capable of catching the football,” Cook said. “He’s just not been used much in that phase. So look, none of these guys that we draft are ready-made players. And so that’s probably one area he has developed, but we definitely saw the potential and the ability to do so that will only add to his ability to help us on all three downs.”
Judkins will form a one-two punch in the backfield with Jerome Ford, who’s an excellent receiver out of the backfield.
“There’s definitely going to be a great complement here with Jerome,” Hickman said. “Both players are well rounded so they can both do everything. And I think that’s the beauty of it. Now all of a sudden it gives Tommy (Rees), Duce (Staley), Kevin (Stefanski) options and how they want to deploy and best use their skill sets.”
Judkins said he and Henderson, who will play for former Buckeye Mike Vrabel in New England, didn’t have a bet on who would go first.
“We were just in support of each other,” he said “Asking how each other’s visits were going and just checking up on each other’s mental and making sure each other we were both OK.”
Judkins missed his top 30 visit to Cleveland because his mom was having surgery, but he got the intel on the offense during other meetings with the Browns.
“I’ll be a great fit in this offense because of who I’m as a player, the physicality, the vision, the elusiveness, the ability to be used outside the tackles and be in the spot and also be in one-on-one situation with linebackers,” he said. “This is such a great situation for me because those are the things that I bring to the game, the passion as well and the great things that you can’t coach. So that’s what I definitely look forward to for this year.”
In Judkins case, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.
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