One of the more underrated storylines throughout the summer and heading into the 2026 preseason could end up revolving around the running back position simply because of how important it is to the Todd Monken offense.
It’s no secret that Monken relies very heavily on the run game when it comes to the success of his offense and how everything sequences off of each other. We saw him utilize Derrick Henry beautifully over the past two seasons, and though Quinshon Judkins is only heading into year two in Cleveland, he’s shown the ability to be a workhorse-type player as a rookie. Seeing Judkins carry the ball 20 times every week shouldn’t surprise anyone, as it’s the players competing behind him that could make for an interesting development in 2026.
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The Browns’ new head coach was able to get the most out of guys like Gus Edwards, Justice Hill, and Keaton Mitchell (when healthy) over the past few seasons, and they all had a fairly legitimate role for the team depending on weekly game plans.
Just because a team has a true workhorse in the backfield doesn’t mean that the players behind them aren’t important, especially in Monken’s offense. He’s always kept four running backs on the roster plus a fullback, and there’s a very good chance that it’ll stay that way for Cleveland.
Dylan Sampson is likely locked into the third-down role right now unless he forgets how to play football this year, which means that the team has to find two other legitimate options this summer. The current ball-carriers on the roster behind those two are Raheim Sanders, Ahmani Marshall, and 2026 UDFA Davon Booth. UDFA RB T.J. Harden was reported as signed, but he’s not currently assigned to the roster, so we’ll have to monitor that. For this piece, we’ll exclude him from the options for now.
Sanders looked pretty good when on the field in 2025, and he’s a surprisingly good pass-catcher for how big he is (6’0”, 230 lbs.). Unless Cleveland brings in another option to compete for RB3, Sanders has a great shot to solidify himself at that spot heading into 2026.
Ahmani Marshall was the training camp and preseason darling of the Browns’ 2025 offseason, and he was retained on the practice squad for most of the year. The previous coaching staff liked him enough to keep him around heading into the offseason, so it’ll be interesting to see what the new offensive staff thinks of him.
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Shortly after the 2026 NFL Draft, the Browns signed UDFA RB Davon Booth from Mississippi State, and he looked pretty good as a Senior last year. He’s really twitched up, has decent speed, and appears to see the field well enough to make some noise in camp.
Seeing as how they didn’t select a running back in this year’s draft, the team could feel comfortable enough with their first three backfield options. The real competition might end up being for RB4, which will likely be utilized more than some think in Todd Monken’s offense.
