•Quinshon Judkins got his wish: Judkins transferred to Ohio State to win a national championship, and he accomplished this in one season with the team.

• Can Judkins be more than a two-down back?: Judkins didn’t play in passing situations often at Ohio State, which could remain true once he finds an NFL team.

• 2025 NFL Draft season is here: Try PFF’s best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2025’s top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.

Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

PFF’s Fantasy Football player profile series delivers the most in-depth fantasy football analysis available for the 2025 season.

Using PFF’s exclusive data, we evaluate player performance, competition for touches and how teammates and coaching staffs will impact each player’s fantasy football outlook.

Last updated: 7:15 a.m. Tuesday, April 1

Player Performance

Judkins started his career as Ole Miss’ feature back, averaging over 120 yards per game in his first season. After two seasons, he opted to transfer to Ohio State in pursuit of a national championship. He accomplished that goal but had to split the backfield with fellow NFL prospect TreVeyon Henderson. While his volume stats changed throughout his three-year college career, his efficiency measures stayed roughly the same, which included his PFF rushing grade hovering between 87.1 and 90.7.

A significant positive for Judkins over his career was ball security, as he fumbled just times over his three seasons as a runner or receiver. Judkins did not stand out in any particular situation, as he was generally above average regardless. Our draft board notes that he lacked creativity in running and essentially got what the offensive line gave him. Depending on his landing spot in the NFL, that could be a problem.

Judkins did not grade well as a pass blocker, although our draft board notes he has “high pass-blocking potential.” He wasn’t used much as a receiver throughout his college career, managing around 10 yards per game. In his one season at Ohio State, he was running notably fewer routes but became more efficient and generally graded well on his limited opportunities.

Projected Role

Judkins’ primary responsibilities will likely be playing on early downs, which he did throughout his college career. The situation he was used in the most was goal-line snaps. He has the size and speed to be a team’s primary early-down back early in his NFL career.

Nonetheless, how much he will be used in the passing game? He had experience with this at Ole Miss, but he understandably didn’t play much on passing downs with Henderson on the roster. Most running backs of his size don’t tend to be used on third downs. The running backs at 6 feet or taller and 220 pounds or heavier with the most targets in the NFL last season were James Conner and Najee Harris, neither of whom were often used on third downs. While it’s unlikely he will consistently play on third downs, he can ideally be used in two-minute drills and still catch some passes on early downs.

Most Mocked Teams

The Bears will be the best landing spot for any running back in this draft. Judkins would likely take the David Montgomery role in Ben Johnson’s offense while D’Andre Swift or someone else takes the Jahmyr Gibbs role. The Bears’ offensive line is good enough for Judkins to succeed. Judkins is expected to either be a second or third-round pick.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys added Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders in free agency. Judkins should be able to beat both backs out for a significant role in the offense, but it could be a situation where it takes some time.

The Broncos will likely use a committee at running back, but they need someone who can take the majority of carries. Most Sean Payton running backs also have the opportunity to catch the ball, even if they are playing on limited snaps.

Bottom Line

Judkins is likely a two-down back in the NFL, but he should be able to do enough in the passing game to be a fantasy starter if the situation is right. He needs to land on the right team with a need at running back and a decent offensive line for him to succeed, but the potential is there for Judkins to be a year-one fantasy starter.

Footnotes

• Statistics in tables and charts were generally chosen based on their ability to predict future fantasy performance on a per-game or per-opportunity basis or for their ability to describe the player relative to others at the same position.
• “Opportunities” are defined as passing dropbacks, rushing attempts and receiving routes run.
• Numbers are either by season or based on the past three years. For rookies, only college numbers are included. Only NFL numbers are included for non-rookies, even if they played in college during the previous three years.
• Because college competition is easier than NFL competition, most rookies will likely see a decline from their historic numbers.
• Only FBS data is considered for college players and comparisons.
• Kneel-downs are removed from rushing data to provide cleaner quarterback rushing rate statistics.
• The colors for all tables in this article range from blue (good or high) to red (bad or low).
• All percentiles or colors compare the given player to other players with a high sample of opportunities. Generally, the cut-off is one-third of the possible opportunities in the sample. If the player in question doesn’t have enough opportunities, they are still compared, even though they could look good or bad based on the small sample size, which might not be as predictive.
• Information on utilization classifications and their importance can be found here for running backs, wide receivers and tight ends.