It’s been a rough start to the 2025 NFL season for the Cleveland Browns, who currently sit at 1-4 after a recent loss against the Minnesota Vikings in London. The Browns did inexplicably win a game against the Green Bay Packers to hand them their lone loss of the season so far, but other than that, it has been a struggle.

One of the main bright spots for the Browns this year has been the play of rookie running back Quinshon Judkins, and recently, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin had high praise for the budding star ahead of the two teams’ matchup this week.

“Judkins is a complete back who can wear a defensive unit down, an awesome replacement for Nick Chubb,” said Tomlin, per 93.7 The Fan on X, formerly Twitter.

Judkins indeed has shown some of the same skillset as former Browns running back Nick Chubb during his time with Cleveland so far, and he’s being relied upon especially heavily in the wake of the quarterback change the team recently made.

A turbulent time for the Browns

On Sunday in London, the Cleveland Browns trotted out Dillon Gabriel, not Joe Flacco, to be the team’s starting quarterback against the Vikings. Gabriel didn’t play horribly in his NFL debut, but fans were quick to notice his hesitancy to throw the ball down the field, with some accusing him of playing not to throw interceptions instead of taking big shots.

This, combined with the Browns’ general losing ways, Shedeur Sanders pantomiming press conferences, and other causes of stress for the team, has enveloped Cleveland in an atmosphere of turmoil at this early juncture of the season.

At this point, the continued development of Judkins might be the only thing that Browns fans have left to look forward to for the rest of this year.

In any case, fans will get their next chance to see Judkins in action on Sunday when the Browns hit the road to face their divisional rival Steelers. That game is set to kick off at 1:00 PM ET in Pittsburgh.