Chase Brown

A fifth-round flier back in 2023, it's no surprise Brown was a committee back to begin his career. That changed when Zack Moss went down for the season in Week 8 last season. From Week 9 on (eight games), Brown played 88% of the Bengals' snaps, averaging 18.9 carries, 5.5 targets, 23.6 touches, 116.3 yards and 20.6 fantasy points per game (fourth highest). He ended up seventh or better among RBs in routes, targets and catches on the season. The 25-year-old is in a good spot as the top receiving back in a pass-heavy, high-scoring Bengals' offense, and he has minimal competition for touches with Samaje Perine and Tahj Brooks next up on the depth chart. Brown is safest as a good RB2, but there's upside for more.

Brown took the lead in Week 8, and from Week 9 to 17, he played at least 80% of Cincinnati’s offensive snaps every week. He averaged 20.6 fantasy points per game during that stretch, third-most among running backs.
The Bengals have tended to have one clear running back for early downs. Since 2017, the Bengals have had one running back with 170 or more carries in first or second down, outside of two-minute drills. The most a backup has had is 83 runs. The exception was 2020, when Joe Mixon was the clear leader before injury.
The Bengals' offensive line ranked fourth-worst in run blocking last season. While Cincinnati made a few changes to their line, we should expect a similar result in 2025.