![Cleveland Browns running back Pierre Strong Jr. (20) rushes for yards as Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Caleb Johnson (57) makes the tackle during the second quarter of an NFL football matchup Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Browns defeated the Jaguars 18-13. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_6000,h_3375/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/251/01jssjd1hmw2119ebkak.jpg "Cleveland Browns running back Pierre Strong Jr. (20) rushes for yards as Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Caleb Johnson (57) makes the tackle during the second quarter of an NFL football matchup Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Browns defeated the Jaguars 18-13. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]")
The Cleveland Browns had plenty of holes to fill entering the NFL Draft and they have spent a pair of their picks to reshape their running back room ahead of the 2025 regular season. With their first pick of Day 3, Cleveland brought a record-breaking rusher from the SEC into the fold by drafting former University of Tennessee standout Dylan Sampson.
By selecting Sampson with the No. 126 overall pick, the Browns got great value with their selection, as The Athletic ranked him as its sixth-best running back prospect in this draft and the 74th best player in this class in their overall player rankings. This past season, Sampson was one of the top rushers in the SEC as he set a new single-season rushing record for the Volunteers by racking up 1,491 yards and 22 touchdowns.
With Sampson joining second-round pick Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland will have plenty of options when determining which players they will enter the season with as part of their running back rotation. This could ultimately lead to a member of the 2024 roster being expendable sooner rather than later.
Dylan Sampson Could Instantly Replace Browns RB Pierre Strong Jr.
Perhaps more so than any other, the NFL is a "what have you done for me lately" league and, if we're being honest, the decision by the Browns to select a pair of running backs in the first four rounds likely signals the end of the road for Strong Jr. in Cleveland.
Over the course of the last two seasons, Strong Jr. appeared in 31 games, including one start, and recorded a total of 309 rushing yards and one touchdown on 89 carries. The former fourth-round pick does possess some breakaway speed, as shown by the pair of 40+ yard rushes he had during his first two seasons in the NFL but that only gets you so far.
Unless Cleveland elects to keep four running backs on the active roster, something that seems rather unlikely, it is hard to think that Strong Jr. will have much of role in the rushing game. Whether it is Sampson or Judkins, one of these two rookies should wind up making the former South Dakota State University standout have to find a new home within the league.