Dylan Sampson — RB · CLE

AI outlook

Sampson is Clevelands RB2/passing-down back behind a healthy Quinshon Judkins under new HC Todd Monken; value tied to receiving work and Judkins injury risk rather than early-down volume.

Pros

Clear path to receiving-down work in a pass-heavy Monken scheme
Strong college production (258/1491/22 in 2024 at Tennessee) and draft capital (Round 4, pick 126)
Direct handcuff to Judkins, who has his own recent injury history (broken leg/dislocated ankle in 2025)

Cons

Buried on early-down work behind Judkins, who looks fully healthy and is the unquestioned lead back
Poor per-play efficiency as a rookie (2.7 YPC) on very limited snap share (23.2%)
New OC (Travis Switzer) and scheme add uncertainty to touch distribution
Reportedly dealing with a minor camp injury as of Aug 7, 2026 (nature unspecified)

Why our rank differs from ADP

disagree lower

RB2 behind a healthy Judkins with 2.7 YPC on his rookie tape.

Full breakdown +

We rank Sampson 208th (PPR) vs a consensus ADP of 161. Judkins is fully healthy and the unquestioned lead, Sampson's rookie efficiency was poor (2.7 YPC on a 23% snap share), and he is dealing with a minor camp injury. The receiving role keeps him rankable; it does not make him a top-160 pick.

Our model

Market ADP?	163
Blended rank?	173
Consensus rank?	167
Tier?	Tier 10
VBD score?	-34.5

Risk profile

Coming soon — we're rebuilding this rating from scratch to make it more accurate.

Projected PPG

Standard	6.8
Half-PPR	8.2
Full PPR	9.6

Confidence tier

Low