Who Should I Start? David Montgomery or Quinshon Judkins

Sunday, January 19, 12:12 AM

Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery rushed seven times for 28 yards during Saturday's playoff loss to the Washington Commanders. He also threw a pass for 20 yards. Montgomery returned from a multi-week absence caused by a knee injury. As expected, he took a backseat to Jahmyr Gibbs, who had twice as many carries and also saw a whopping 11 targets. Montgomery's ability to convert in short-yardage situations makes him a special running back, but there's no denying that he lacks the shiftiness, receiving skills, and big-play upside of Gibbs. Nevertheless, the two continue to form the best running back duo in the NFL. Heading into 2025, Montgomery will have standalone value as a high-end RB3, and he'll also be a premier handcuff option in case Gibbs gets hurt.

Monday, April 28, 11:17 PM

The Cleveland Browns think very highly of running back Quinshon Judkins' potential at the next level after selecting him at No. 36 overall in the second round of the NFL draft last Friday. "Not necessarily saying that he's going to, with certainty, develop into one of those players, we certainly hope that's the case, but we think that he can be a bell cow runner that can really carry the load for us," general manager Andrew Berry said. The Browns' quarterback situation in 2025 could hold Judkins and the rest of their offense back, but it doesn't change the fact that the 21-year-old rookie has a real chance to be the team's RB1 over Jerome Ford sooner than later. It's unclear exactly how Judkins and Ford will coexist in this backfield, but head coach Kevin Stefanski said they want to use Judkins "in a bunch of different ways." Judkins will be more valuable in standard-scoring formats, but his explosiveness and three-down ability will make him an interesting sleeper at the RB position in 2025.