Who Should I Start? Jordan Mason or Quinshon Judkins

Wednesday, April 2, 9:44 AM

It sounds as though Minnesota Vikings running back Jordan Mason, who was acquired from the San Francisco 49ers this offseason, will have a notable role in the team's backfield in 2025 as the "1b" behind starter Aaron Jones. "I do think Jordan's gonna bring something to the table in those short-yardage situations, those goal-line situations, goal-to-go, where we've really left a lot to be desired as a football team," head coach Kevin O'Connell said. If healthy, Jones should be Minnesota's go-to guy on the early downs and on third down in obvious passing situations, but the presence of Mason as the potential goal-line guy for the Vikes could be bad news for Jones' fantasy ceiling and floor this upcoming season. Mason, 25, has averaged at least 5.2 yards per carry in his three years in the NFL and looked good filling in for the injured Christian McCaffrey in 2025. He'll be a handcuff to Jones but could also be in play as a touchdown-dependent RB3/flex in deeper leagues.

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.