Quinshon Judkins vs Joe Burrow

“Overvalued: Quinshon Judkins, Running Back (RB23, Pick 52 OVR) Quinshon Judkins was a great talent coming out of college, but had a shortened offseason thanks to his domestic violence “issues” (a euphemism to say that he beat a woman). He ended his rookie year by destroying his leg late in the season, and is recovering from his leg and ankle injury.”

“Quinshon Judkins (RB – CLE) Judkins was off to a strong start as a rookie before a fractured fibula ended his season. Recovery timelines from that type of injury have been mixed for other NFL players, though Judkins is young enough that he’s had ample time to heal.”

“Even with Dylan Sampson around, Judkins is the workhorse and could get 250+ touches assuming good health for the entire season. Now a second-year running back, Judkins is in the window of time when running backs start to explode.”

“Judkins has three-down upside and should be a target wherever he falls on draft day.”

“Judkins had at least 18 rushing attempts for 110 yards or a touchdown in three consecutive games after making his debut. Furthermore, Judkins averaged 17.4 PPR fantasy points per game in the six contests with 18+ rushing attempts.”

“Judkins finished as the RB26 in PPR formats with 169.8 fantasy points, a baseline he should surpass with a full workload under head coach Todd Monken. There is no reason he can't push into RB1 territory this season and remain there beyond 2026.”

“Quinshon Judkins was trying to overcome a bad offense in 2025 and may see that same dilemma in 2026. Judkins passed the eye test when he was on the field before injury, and he looks explosive right now in practice, too. Even though 67% of his runs went for 3 or fewer yards (worst rate in the NFL), he was still a workload monster who got 34% of the Browns' rush attempts and targets.”

“The video highlights from minicamp showed a spry, healthy-looking Quinshon Judkins. That was a little surprising, given the brutal leg injury he's been rehabbing from.”

“Judkins is in line for ample touch volume again, but the constraints of the Cleveland offense will almost certainly limit his touchdowns and hinder his efficiency. Quinshon Judkins looks like a volume trap.”

“Judkins averaged 18.3 touches a game for the Browns as a rookie, even though he missed training camp, the preseason, and Week 1 due to legal issues. One reason for the discount is that Judkins is coming back from a significant injury. He dislocated his ankle and fractured his fibula in Week 16.”

“Even glancing back to his days at Ohio State, Judkins wasn't used much as a receiver, in favor of his more bruising style. I don't envision him catching more than 35 passes after he saw fewer than three targets per game in 2025, especially given the receiving threats the Browns possess.”

“Judkins is a good player, but his draft day cost assumes a bigger workload than the data suggests he'll get, especially with Dylan Sampson as a better pass-catcher who will likely split carries in head coach Todd Monken's rotation.”

“Lamar Jackson , Jayden Daniels , Joe Burrow , Baker Mayfield , and Kyler Murray all were selected as top-12 players at the position and finished double-digit slots behind expectations in terms of points per game.”

“Round 1: Joe Burrow (QB – CIN) To kick things off at No. 4 overall, I went with Joe Burrow .”

“Even with a modest target share, Higgins maximizes his opportunities in one of the NFL’s premier passing offenses led by Joe Burrow .”

“The pivot to more under-center passing won’t be as natural and certainly might not be anywhere near as successful for the Bengals, because Burrow clearly isn’t as comfortable and doesn’t perform as well. In fact, if we go back the last three years, Burrow’s under-center dropbacks average just 3.6 air yards, which ranked dead last: #69 out of 69 qualifying QBs. His time to throw of 2.81 seconds was the #5 fastest out of 69 QBs, and he threw just 17% of passes 10+ yards downfield, also ranking dead last.”

“Zac Taylor wants the Bengals to play more from under center in 2026. Unfortunately, Joe Burrow under center is precisely where this offense struggles most, which is why the Bengals haven't used it often of late. How much the Bengals choose to pivot to under-center passing and how much Burrow can improve on these dropbacks might have a large impact on their fortunes in 2026.”

“Overvalued: Joe Burrow, Quarterback (QB4, Pick 59 OVR) Now, this isn’t to say that I don’t like Joe Burrow, or that I don’t think that Joe Burrow is a talented player; I just think that Joe Burrow is capped insofar as he doesn’t rush at all, and the Bengals’ offensive line isn’t strong enough for him to be a consistent top-four player without the rushing.”

“Of the top-10 quarterbacks based on LTV, Burrow is the one quarterback with little to no rushing upside, making him the quarterback I would want to trade away.”

“Burrow was once again impactful when on the field, completing 66.8% of his passes for a 6.6% touchdown rate. Burrow is the only quarterback with a touchdown rate of 6% or higher in each of the past two seasons.”

“Despite finishing the season as the QB29 last season due to missed games, Burrow finished the season red hot. Through the final six weeks of 2025, Burrow was on pace for 4500+ passing yards and 43 passing TDs. Since 2023, Burrow in Week 1 has been atrocious.”

“Over the last four seasons, Burrow has established himself as one of the NFL's premier fantasy quarterbacks even without the rushing upside of the Allen/Lamar types. He finished as the overall QB3 or better for 14 weeks in that span. What's wild is he missed 17 games in that span!”

“Joe Burrow's health has been the biggest hurdle for this team in recent seasons. If he remains healthy, Burrow will put up MVP numbers, and the Bengals will be in the thick of the playoff hunt in a loaded AFC field of contenders.”

“Seeing Joe Burrow go ahead of quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson and Drake Maye is quite shocking, but Burrow is firmly going as the QB2 on Fantrax. If Burrow were to have another season like 2024, with 45 total touchdowns and almost 5,000 passing yards, he would be worthy of this selection. But we also have to consider the possibility of a repeat of his 2025 season, in which Burrow played only eight games and threw 17 passing touchdowns while finishing with fewer than 2,000 yards in half a season.”