Rookie running back Quinshon Judkins got his first taste of NFL action last week.
This week, he'll make his first start.
The Cleveland Browns plan to have Judkins in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.
In the Browns' 41-17 Week 2 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Judkins received 19 offensive snaps -- 26.4% of the team's workload at running back. He saw two more plays than fellow rookie Dylan Sampson and trailed behind veteran Jerome Ford's 35 snaps.
However, he received 10 carries, the same as Sampson and Ford combined, and rushed for 61 yards while appearing to be far and away Cleveland's most effective runner -- providing a spark the team is in need of, considering it ranks 27th in the league in rushing yards through two weeks.
Whether or not his expected start portends an even more lopsided share of the carries remains to be seen, but it's another step in the acclimation process for the 2025 NFL Draft's No. 36 overall pick.
Judkins spent two years playing collegiately for Ole Miss before transferring to Ohio State, where he rushed for 1,060 yards and 14 touchdowns as part of the Buckeye's College Football National Championship-winning squad.
Months following the draft, he was arrested on July 12 in Florida and charged with touch or strike battery/domestic violence. Prosecutors later declined to move forward with the charges after determining that a conviction was unlikely based on numerous factors.
Due to the legal process playing out, Judkins did not sign his rookie contract until Sept. 6, and thus missed all of training camp. He met with league officials in New York on Sept. 10 as part of the NFL's investigation into potential violations of the personal conduct policy stemming from the aforementioned arrest.
Judkins went on to face the Ravens later that week, and the Browns monitored his snaps.
His ramp up continues with a start on Sunday as the Browns host the Packers at 1 p.m. ET.
