Who Should I Start? Chase Brown or Brock Bowers

Saturday, October 4, 1:26 PM

Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown has been one of fantasy football's biggest disappointments to start the 2025 season. Through four weeks, Brown has 57 carries for just 133 yards and one touchdown, along with 11 catches for 74 yards, ranking as the RB35 in half-PPR formats on a per-game basis. He's struggled badly behind Cincinnati's offensive line, sitting dead last in the league in both yards per carry (2.3) and yards before contact (1.0). Week 5 doesn't offer much relief, as the Bengals face the Detroit Lions, who have allowed the ninth-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs. Detroit's run defense has been one of the best in football over the past two seasons, making running lanes nearly nonexistent. Given the tough matchup and Brown's inefficiency, he should be considered no more than a low-end FLEX option in Week 5 lineups.

Monday, October 6, 3:11 PM

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll called star tight end Brock Bowers (knee) "week-to-week" on Monday after the second-year player missed his first game of the year in the Week 5 blowout loss to the Indianapolis Colts, according to Paul Gutierrez of ESPN. Bowers injured the PCL in his knee in the season opener and played through it through Week 4, but they finally shut him down last week. The 22-year-old could now be in danger of missing a second straight game in Week 6 against the Tennessee Titans, depending on how his knee responds to treatment this week. Fellow TE Michael Mayer (concussion) missed a second straight game on Sunday as well, which led to the Raiders bringing up Albert Okwuegbunam from their practice squad. Fantasy managers must prepare for another potential absence from Bowers in Week 6. We should know more about his status once the team resumes practicing on Wednesday.