Chase Brown

The Bengals RB finished the year on an absolute heater, and that was despite ceding touches/snaps to Samaje Perine. After a slow start in a Joe Burrow-less offense, Chase Brown finished as the RB7 in PPG from Week 7 onward (18.3).
Once Burrow returned to the lineup, Brown's production spiked, as he averaged an impressive 20.6 Half-PPR points per game and ranked as the RB3 across Weeks 13-17.
He rushed for over 1,000 yards and finished 5th among RBs with 69 catches for 437 yards. Through the last two years, Brown has averaged just shy of 1,000 rushing yards and nearly 1,400 yards from scrimmage. Entering the final year of his rookie contract, the former 5th-round draft pick will be looking to finish 2026 on his highest note to date.

Last year, Chase Brown started slowly as the RB34 in fantasy points per game in Weeks 1-5. After that point, he was exactly who fantasy gamers thought they were drafting as the RB6 in fantasy points per game. In Weeks 6-18, among 48 qualifying backs, he ranked 17th in explosive run rate, fifth in yards after contact per attempt, and 16th in missed tackles forced per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). During that span, he averaged 18.2 touches and 100.1 total yards. Brown had to deal with Samaje Perine eating into his workload during Weeks 13-18, but it didn't capsize his production. During that stretch, while he did play 60.5% of the snaps and 71.6% of the snaps in the red zone, he did have 17 red zone carries versus Perine's 13. If Brown can capture more of the red zone work in 2026, his ceiling and floor will be raised considerably from a week-to-week and season-long perspective. Brown is a solid RB1 with top-five upside this season.