Judkins turned in his best fantasy outing of the season in Thursday night’s win over the Steelers, racking up 96 total yards and a score. He didn’t find much room on the ground, averaging just 3.1 yards across 17 carries. But he punched in a two-yard TD in the second quarter. Judkins was also busy in the passing game, hauling in 6 of 7 targets for 43 yards.
2026 Fantasy Football Impact: Volume Fueling The Production
We had two big concerns with Judkins heading into this season:
- The Browns looked like one of the worst teams in the league.
- Judkins didn’t project to be a big contributor as a receiver.
He’s in better shape than expected in both departments through 4 weeks.
The Browns are 3-1 and look competent on offense, averaging 20.3 points per game.
More importantly, Judkins has been very involved in the passing game. His 7 targets and 6 catches vs. Pittsburgh were both career highs. Judkins tallied 2, 5, and 2 receptions over the first 3 games of the season. He’s up to 4.0 targets per game on a 13.8% target share.
The rushing efficiency remains ugly. Judkins has been held under 4.0 yards per carry in all 4 games and is at 3.0 yards per carry for the season. Even so, we thought Thursday night’s game vs. the Steelers was his best work as a runner. Remember that Judkins is returning from a dislocated ankle and fractured fibula in his right leg suffered last December. He might still be working his way back to 100%.
We’ll see if that efficiency improves. (It’d be tough for it to not!) But Judkins’ role in a better-than-expected Browns offense has him looking like a solid RB2 going forward.
He gets a nice matchup vs. the Jets in Week 5. That’s followed by a tougher Week 6 spot against Baltimore that will find the Browns big underdogs. But the Ravens have struggled against the run so far, ranking 17th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs.
Cleveland’s schedule from Week 5 through 17 ranks 18th-easiest for RBs.
