Quinshon Judkins makes his case for Offensive Rookie of the Year

In the Cleveland Browns' second win of the season, it was obvious that the defense for Cleveland stood out, taking the ball away multiple times and scoring a touchdown.

The other standout for Cleveland was rookie running back Quinshon Judkins. Judkins broke out on Sunday, rushing for 84 yards and a hat trick of touchdowns, including a season-long 46-yard touchdown run. 

Judkins is the first Browns rookie with 3 rushing yards in a game since Travis Prentice on Oct. 8th, 2000, per Dan Murphy. Judkins was also the first Browns player in general with 3 rushing touchdowns since Nick Chubb on Sept. 18th, 2022. 

Quinshon is now 10th in the NFL in rushing yards after Sunday, with 467 yards. He leads all rookies in rushing yards; Ashton Jeanty trails Judkins by 22 yards, and Cam Skattebo also trails close behind. Judkins is tied with Skattebo in the most rushing touchdowns at five now on the season. 

While the Browns' offensive line has been below average for the season, Judkins does not stop fighting for yards.

This season, he has accumulated +116 rushing yards over expected, which puts him in the top five in the NFL in that stat, fourth to be exact, only behind Javonte Williams, David Montgomery, and Jonathon Taylor. Judkins is also third in the NFL in rushing yards after contact with 4.1, only trailing Bijan Robinson and Javonte Williams. 446 yards of Judkins yards are after contact this season, which he is also in the top 3 in the NFL in. 

In terms of Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, Judkins is now fourth in the best odds, sitting at +1000. Tyler Warren is in third, Emeka Egbuka is at second and Jaxson Dart is the favorite at -125 via FanDuel.

Now this is setting up another rookie of the year race between the Browns and the Giants, as most fans remember the race in 2018 between Baker Mayfield and Saquon Barkley, in which Barkley won the award, totaling over 2,000 scrimmage yards and 15 touchdowns.

To start the season, Judkins was +2000 to win the award, ranking at seventh best odds tied with Tyler Shough and TreVeyon Henderson. 

Judkins also missed the first game of the season against the Bengals, and a majority of the offseason, while he was battling legal troubles and his first contract was being delayed. 

Judkins has been getting stronger each and every week. So far, he has proven to be one of the headliners in the Offensive Rookie of the Year battle.