Fantasy football and the Cincinnati Bengals have gone hand-in-hand in the Joe Burrow era. The top receivers are highly drafted in most leagues and, for the longest time, they had a high-volume running back. Now that Joe Mixon is gone, there are about 250 carries up in the air.
The Bengals went out and signed former Buffalo Bills running back Zack Moss to go with second-year back Chase Brown . However, it's Brown that has gotten the attention of left tackle, Orlando Brown , Jr.
With all of the attention potentially being paid to Moss (RB28 according to FantasyPros ), Orlando Brown, Jr. believes that it'll be Chase Brown who breaks out for the Bengals :
"If I could play fantasy football, I'd take him as my first running back…He's going to have a year. I guarantee it. Special talent, special player."
As of this August 3 publication, Brown is currently sitting at RB37 by FantasyPros.
It does make sense for fantasy managers to be cautious about using a pick on Brown. As a rookie, he only appeared in 12 games and logged just 93 snaps on the year. Eight of those snaps were before Burrow's injury.
He did flash at the end of the year with 173 yards off 42 attempts on the ground and 149 yards and a score off 11 receptions over the final six games. When he finally got the opportunity, Brown showed a little bit of what the Bengals saw from him at Illinois.
In his senior season in 2022, Brown was the Illinois offense. He ran the ball a Big-Ten most 383 times (second-most in college football) for 1,643 yards (second in the Big Ten; fourth in the nation) and 10 touchdowns. As a receiver, he added 27 catches for 240 yards and three touchdowns.
All signs have been pointing toward a Brown breakout in 2024, both in fantasy and in real life. Brown has been taking the brunt of the first-team snaps in training camp. Perhaps the second-year back is just what the Burrow-led offense needs to take the next step.
Most Popular
Comments / 0