Who Should I Start? Breece Hall or Chase Brown

Thursday, August 28, 10:53 AM

The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt writes that New York Jets running back Breece Hall "wasn't (the team's) best running back in training camp." Rosenblatt also reports that, based on the way Jets' coaches have raved about second-year back Braelon Allen, he wouldn't be surprised if Allen "overtakes (Hall) completely as the lead back at some point." There's been a steady drumbeat of reporting indicating a split workload in the Jets' backfield this season. That could lead to Hall being limited to mostly passing-down work, which may mean he is currently overvalued in fantasy drafts as one of the first 15-20 running backs off the board. Hall remains a very talented player who had an extremely productive fantasy season as recently as 2023, so he's a risky pick due to the variance between his floor and ceiling.

Saturday, August 30, 9:13 AM

The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. predicts that Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown's workload "won't be too far off" from the 23.6 touches he averaged per game between Week 9 and Week 17 of the 2024 season. Dehner Jr. writes that the team "restructured the run game specifically around (Brown's) skillset" and is "utilizing him more split out wide." During the eight-game stretch last season referenced above, Brown gained 930 yards from scrimmage and scored six touchdowns. As long as Cincinnati's offense is again one of the league's most prolific, Brown should be in line for a monster season. He's a low-end fantasy RB1, and could finish even higher in full-PPR scoring formats.