Start David Montgomery or Quinshon Judkins? Week 1

Our Week 1 call

Start Quinshon Judkins over David Montgomery in Week 1.

David Montgomery is priced by the books at 5.6 projected points and Quinshon Judkins is not priced at all, so we are leaning on where drafters take them. Drafters take Quinshon Judkins at ADP 47 and David Montgomery at 52.

What the books imply

No sportsbook posted a player market for Quinshon Judkins in Week 1.

Player prop markets imply 5.6 fantasy points for David Montgomery, with 40 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

Week 1 matchups

Quinshon Judkins and CLE visit JAX.

JAX allowed 12.6 fantasy points to RBs in its one game this season, the 8th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 34 yards and no touchdowns against JAX and caught passes for 42 more yards.

David Montgomery and HOU host BUF on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

BUF allowed 33.9 fantasy points to RBs in its one game this season, the 7th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns against BUF and caught passes for 17 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, David Montgomery has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Quinshon Judkins was not on the injury report when the call was made.

David Montgomery was not on the injury report when the call was made.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Quinshon Judkins played 15 games for CLE and scored 169.8 PPR points, 11.3 a game, finishing RB26.

He ran 230 times for 827 yards and 7 touchdowns, and caught 26 of 36 targets for 171 yards.

He was on the field for 50 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Quinshon Judkins, Week 16 of 2025 against BUF: 26 of 66 snaps, 8 carries for 22 yards, 6 targets and 5 catches for 29 yards, 10.1 PPR points.

Quinshon Judkins, Week 15 of 2025 against CHI: 38 of 57 snaps, 12 carries for 21 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for -4 yards, 4.7 PPR points.

In 2025, David Montgomery played 17 games for DET and scored 166.9 PPR points, 9.8 a game, finishing RB27.

He ran 158 times for 716 yards and 8 touchdowns, and caught 24 of 29 targets for 192 yards.

He was on the field for 37 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

David Montgomery, Week 18 of 2025 against CHI: 8 carries for 42 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 13 yards, 6.5 PPR points.

David Montgomery, Week 17 of 2025 against MIN: 22 of 64 snaps, 10 carries for 25 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 15 yards, 6.0 PPR points.

David Montgomery, Week 16 of 2025 against PIT: 13 of 74 snaps, 4 carries for 14 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards, 1.4 PPR points.

How Week 1 went

Quinshon Judkins scored 7.0 PPR points and David Montgomery scored 28.9.

The call was wrong: David Montgomery outscored Quinshon Judkins by 21.9.

Quinshon Judkins, Week 1 against JAX: 33 of 51 snaps, 12 carries for 33 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 17 yards, 7.0 PPR points.

Quinshon Judkins finished as the week's RB39 in PPR scoring.

David Montgomery finished 23.3 points above the 5.6 the props implied.

David Montgomery, Week 1 against BUF: 39 of 79 snaps, 20 carries for 60 yards, 3 targets and 3 catches for 19 yards, 3 touchdowns, 28.9 PPR points.

David Montgomery finished as the week's RB7 in PPR scoring.

Their other Week 1 calls

• Start Bhayshul Tuten over Quinshon Judkins.
• Start Bucky Irving over Quinshon Judkins.
• Start Cam Skattebo over Quinshon Judkins.
• Start Bhayshul Tuten over David Montgomery.
• Start Bucky Irving over David Montgomery.
• Start D'Andre Swift over David Montgomery.