The Cleveland Browns selected Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson with the 16th pick in the fourth round (No. 126 overall) of the NFL Draft on Friday night.
Sampson declared for the NFL Draft after three years at Tennessee where he totaled 2,834 all purpose yards and 36 total touchdowns. The Baton Rouge native was a rotational back in his first two years at Tennessee and then became a breakout star as a junior.
Sampson’s 2024 season was one of the best in program history with the junior totaling 1,491 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns on 258 total carries.
The 5-foot-11, 201-pound running back wrote his name in the Tennessee record books with both the most rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in a single season. Sampson broke Gene McEver’s rushing touchdown record from 1929 and Travis Stephens’ rushing yards record from 2001.
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Sampson’s consistency was one of his greatest feats in his college career. He rushed for over 100 yards in 10 games last season including seven of eight SEC games. The running back’s SEC low in rushing yards came in a 92-yard, one touchdown performance at Oklahoma.
Unsurprisingly, Sampson declared for the 2025 NFL Draft in December after Tennessee’s season came to a close in the first round of the College Football Playoffs against Ohio State.
“To Coach Heupel, Coach Mack, Coach Walt, Coach Sims, and all the staff, thanks for giving this kid from Louisiana the opportunity of a lifetime,” Sampson wrote. “I am proud to be a part of the first recruiting class under this era. I’ve learned so much and having the chance to be a part of something special, something that was bigger than me, the opportunity to lift this program back to the place where it should be. I am forever grateful. With that being said, I will be declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft.”
