Who Should I Start? Chase Brown or Jonathon Brooks

Friday, July 25, 1:17 PM

Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein reports that Cincinnati Bengals coaches and players have been very high on running back Chase Brown this summer. "I think Chase Brown is going to, by the end of the season, be a household name," offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said. "He's everything that Austin Ekeler was. I think that by the time the season's over, [you'll all] know who he is." Pitcher has also said the Brown will be a focal point of the offense this year, which seems like a good idea after he ran for 990 yards and seven touchdowns on 229 carries in 16 regular-season games (10 starts) in 2024. He also caught 54 of his 65 targets for 360 yards and four touchdowns, proving he can really do it all. Brown had at least 50 snaps and 15 touches in each of his last eight games. The Bengals could look to spell him when they need to, but he's at least a low-end RB1 target in fantasy.

Thursday, May 8, 1:14 PM

The Carolina Panthers placed running back Jonathon Brooks (knee) on the Physically Unable to Perform list on Thursday, meaning he will not play at all in the 2025 season, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Brooks tore his right ACL in Week 14 of his rookie season in 2024, his second ACL tear in as many years. The 21-year-old didn't make his NFL debut until Week 12 last year and played in just three games before unfortunately suffering another ACL tear. In his three games with Carolina, the second-rounder (46th overall) out of Texas had nine carries for 22 yards and caught all three of his targets for 23 yards. It's been a tough last couple of years for Brooks, who probably will never be the same runner he was before tearing his right ACL twice. The Panthers will move forward with Chuba Hubbard, Rico Dowdle and rookie Trevor Etienne as their RBs in 2025.