Jaleel McLaughlin wasn’t among the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad call-ups ahead of Sunday’s season opener, but that’s likely about to change.
One of the Browns’ best pickups after the NFL’s roster cuts were processed now looks brilliant after No. 2 running back Dylan Sampson was ruled out in the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a knee injury.
Sampson was projected to have a meaningful role in the Browns’ offense this season as a change-of-pace back to starter Quinshon Judkins. Raheim Sanders was active Sunday as Cleveland’s third running back, but McLaughlin’s skill set makes him the obvious next man up if Sampson is forced to miss additional time.
In a way, it was surprising that the Denver Broncos moved on from the slippery back this summer.
Browns fans could soon see how good of a running back Jaleel McLaughlin is
McLaughlin is a smaller back at 5-foot-7 and 187 pounds, which is why he went undrafted out of Youngstown State. He’s not going to profile as a player with a heavy workload on offense.
But in a complementary role, he could bring serious juice to Cleveland’s offense.
McLaughlin made Denver’s 53-man roster as a rookie in 2023 and stuck around for three seasons. He averaged 4.8 yards per rush on his 226 attempts.
He’s extremely hard to tackle and can find his own daylight in the running game. In 2025, he forced 12 missed tackles on just 37 carries. He also broke tackles at a 21.6-percent clip.
You could make a case for McLaughlin already being the third-best back on the Browns’ roster behind Judkins and Sampson, but Cleveland would need Sanders’ size and more physical running style if Judkins were to miss time.
Potentially losing the explosive Sampson hurts, but if his injury lingers, the Browns already have a capable option in-house.
McLaughlin got phased out during his final year in Denver
The Broncos have been revamping their running back room in recent seasons. They used a second-round pick on RJ Harvey in 2025 and went back to the well this year, selecting Jonah Coleman in the fourth round.
Sayre Bedinger of Predominantly Orange noted how McLaughlin's departure was more about circumstances than ability.
"By the 2025 season, the Broncos had basically phased McLaughlin out of the offensive plan, adding both JK Dobbins and RJ Harvey to the backfield with Tyler Badie as the passing down back," Bedinger wrote. "McLaughlin didn't even play until after Dobbins went down with his injury in Week 10, but even then, the Broncos used him sparingly (41 total touches in 8 games)."
Mclaughlin could have signed anywhere after clearing waivers. He chose to return to his college roots in Northeast Ohio, and may see a path back to the field sooner than expected.
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