Quinshon Judkins
vs Joe Burrow

““ Quinshon Judkins had a surprisingly solid performance last Thursday night against the Steelers, but I still don’t buy it. The Browns are winning, yet Judkins is still having a tough time getting going. The second-year back is averaging an abysmal 3.0 yards per carry this season and hasn’t topped 70 rushing yards in a game yet.”

“Judkins is averaging 0.64 yards before contact per rush, 33rd on that same list. He has been targeted on 24.3% of his routes (RB15) but has still run a route on only 35.6% of dropbacks (RB26), sharing passing duties with Raheim Sanders . Pittsburgh is 24th in expected points allowed per game to running backs , coming off allowing 69 total yards on 15 touches to Chase Brown on Sunday.”

“Judkins has a 68.3% snap rate with 53.3% of the rushing attempts, a 38.5% route share, and a 13.5% target share. He has handled all three of the Browns’ red zone rushing attempts this season. Unfortunately, he has been woefully inefficient with his workload, with zero explosive runs, 1.42 yards after contact per attempt, and an 8% missed tackle rate.”

“Quinshon Judkins is the Ballers consensus RB22 and can be benched if you have better options.”

“Quinshon Judkins has had 12 carries in each of his first two games and hasn’t had a run of 10 or more yards. He’s averaging 2.3 yards per carry behind a rebuilt Browns offensive line that ranks dead last in the run-blocking metric adjusted line yards. But Judkins gets a favorable home matchup against a Panthers defense that has given up the most rushing yards to RBs.”

“Quinshon Judkins is the RB33 in fantasy points per game, averaging 15.5 touches and 49 total yards per game.”

“Judkins is averaging 2.25 YPC on 24 carries (54 total yards), but he did have five receptions this week with Dylan Sampson out of the lineup. That may be enough to convince another owner that he is a true workhorse back and worthy of an RB2 trade. Maybe an opportunistic Chuba Hubbard owner would consider swapping for Judkins, knowing that the Browns are fully committed to him as their RB1?”

“Bengals Bengals QB Joe Burrow had 58 passing attempts in the loss to the Jaguars on Sunday, but feels that the team can throw it even more going forward.”

“Burrow had an underwhelming opener, but he’s tallied 489 passing yards (244.5 per game), 7.45 adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A), five passing touchdowns, and zero interceptions in two subsequent contests, scoring 19.88 DraftKings points per game and 19.88 FanDuel points per game in the last two weeks. The Bengals lost a shootout last week, and the Jaguars have the firepower to push Burrow into a ceiling performance through the air. His top passing-game weapon will be featured in the core studs.”

“Joe Burrow may not be a must-start this week, but Chase Brown , Ja’Marr Chase , and Tee Higgins are all auto-starts.”

“According to the Fantasy Points Data Suite 2.0, among 33 quarterbacks with at least 20 dropbacks, Burrow ranks: 13th in passing yards per game (230.5) 19th in adjusted net yards per pass attempt (6.14 ANY/A) Tied for 14th in passing touchdowns (three) 10th in expected passing touchdowns (3.5) 21st in rushing yards per game (9.5) Interestingly, the Bengals are just fifth in pass rate over expected (6.3% PROE) this year. That’s still pass-happy, but Cincinnati tied for first in PROE (7.9%) from 2023 through 2025. Their defense is better, and the washed-up, Aaron Rodgers -led Steelers are unlikely to push Burrow and Cincinnati’s offense into a shootout.”

“Joe Burrow nearly gifted Tampa Bay a pick-six, the Buccaneers heavily guarded Chase, and Burrow simply could not connect with his WR1. That extra attention also opened things up elsewhere: TE Mike Gesicki finished with five catches for 78 yards and a TD as Tampa Bay focused on containing Chase and Tee Higgins . Look, that does not completely let Chase off the hook.”

“Joe Burrow’s health has been a concern in recent years, but I’ll bank on him playing a full season with one of the easiest schedules in football. I believe 4,500 yards and 40 touchdowns are more than doable.”

“But if Bengals QB Joe Burrow, who missed nine games last season, enjoys a season of good health, McPherson should have his fair share of FG and PAT opportunities.”

“When Joe Burrow was healthy, he was a top-three quarterback last season”

“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.”