Who Should I Start? Chase Brown or Cody Schrader

Tuesday, March 4, 5:41 PM

Bengals beat writer Geoff Hobson gets the sense that the Cincinnati Bengals are looking to go bigger for a complement to lead back Chase Brown this offseason with Zack Moss' (neck) status unclear. Brown played big as a three-down back in 2024 after Moss' injury and racked up an impressive 1,350 scrimmage yards on 283 touches while also protecting quarterback Joe Burrow, but offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher wouldn't mind another big and physical back to help Brown out. "The easy answer is Chase isn't the biggest guy, so maybe if you have an opportunity to add a bigger back with a little more power repertoire to his game, that size helps you in protection," Pitcher said. The 24-year-old Brown finished as the RB12 in half-PPR scoring in 2024 thanks to his workhorse role, and although he should remain the lead back in a high-scoring offense, fantasy managers should expect some regression.

Friday, January 3, 8:20 PM

Los Angeles Rams running back Cody Schrader hasn't gotten any NFL work yet, but coach Sean McVay said he wants to see what the rookie can bring by getting him some work in Week 18 against the Seahawks. Schrader was an undrafted rookie out of Missouri last season who signed with the 49ers last May. He was waived at the end of training camp and claimed by the Rams. Schrader was very productive for the Tigers last season, setting the single-season record with 1,627 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. However, he hasn't seen any NFL action and is mostly viewed as a depth option going forward. He could get double-digit touches this week, though, so he's a flier to keep an eye on for very deep formats going forward. He's RotoBaller's RB73 this week, so he doesn't make a good fantasy play at this point in his NFL journey.