Is Dylan Sampson a Late-Round Rookie Sleeper at Running Back in Fantasy Football?

Entering the 2025 season, the Cleveland Browns have a revamped backfield. Nick Chubb departed for the Houston Texans while Cleveland spent two 2025 NFL Draft picks on running backs.

Cleveland has been one of many running back rooms fantasy managers have been attempting to diagnose prior to Week 1. Who will start? Which tailback could be the best value? This is truly a three-man room, making this rotation a tough cookie to crack.

After starting in the final preseason game, hype is building around Dylan Sampson. Will he maintain control of the battle and become Cleveland's starting tailback? Should we target Sampson as a sleeper in fantasy football?

Note: A player's average draft position (ADP) data comes from FantasyPros' half-PPR data. The basis for rounds used in this piece is from 12-player leagues.

Dylan Sampson's Rookie Profile

The Browns selected Sampson with the 126th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. With the Tennessee Volunteers, Sampson was very productive in his sole season as the full-time starter, racking up 1,491 rushing yards, 5.8 yards per rushing attempt, and 22 rushing touchdowns in the 2024 season.

After earning First Team All-SEC honors and a 90.5 Pro Football Focus player grade in 2024, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com projected Sampson to land in the second or third round of the draft. Sliding to the fourth round, the Browns got a bargain deal.

While Sampson didn't do much as a receiver in college, he's an excellent pure rusher with an all-around skillset -- including exceptional speed and contact balance. With limited competition, Sampson felt like a good fit to replace Chubb's ability as a pure rusher.

However, Cleveland's workload will likely have multiple mouths to feed. Who is Sampson's competition?

The Browns' Running Back Room

Starting with the familiar face, Jerome Ford has been the favorite to start. After starting in 12 games in 2023 while totaling 813 rushing yards and 4.0 yards per carry, his workload dipped to 6 starts, 565 rushing yards, and 5.4 yards per rushing attempt a season ago.

In 2023, Ford logged 3.54 yards created per touch (20th) and -53.9 expected points added (149th), per PlayerProfiler. While he got less work last season, Ford's efficiency was way up with 4.54 yards created per touch (4th) and +1.2 EPA (35th).

Ford should still have a steady role in this offense. Plus, things are only getting more complicated with Quinshon Judkins potentially joining the fold.

The second-round rookie had the domestic abuse charges against him dropped, and reports are now pointing to Judkins potentially returning to the team. At one point, Judkins was the favorite to take over the backfield.

According to FantasyPros, Judkins has an ADP of RB34 and 95.0 overall, Ford is RB51 and 154.3 overall, and Sampson has an ADP of RB55 and 166.0 overall. With that in mind, is Sampson worth circling as a sleeper?

Dylan Sampson's Fantasy Football Outlook

Considering Sampson has the latest ADP among the three backs, he looks to be carrying the best value right now -- especially when Sampson started in the final preseason game.

As long as Judkins remains unsigned, Sampson is the back to circle. He fits Cleveland's outside zone run scheme to a T. Plus, there's been a lot of positive news surrounding the rookie as a receiver.

In June, running backs coach Duce Staley stated Sampson could play in the slot and on third downs. If that's the case, Sampson is trending toward becoming an every down back as we know he's talented as a pure rusher.

After posting the league's lowest rush-play rate in 2025, more rushing attempts on this offense should be imminent. The Browns invested two picks in the backfield, and previous Kevin Stefanski offenses were in the top 10 of rush-play rate (2020, 2021, and 2022).

With true three-down upside right now, why not board the Sampson hype train? He's already pushing Ford for even work at the very least and could even start over the veteran counterpart. Judkins remains in limbo, making Sampson our best value pick with Week 1 on the horizon.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.