Who Should I Start? Chase Brown or Kaleb Johnson

Friday, August 28, 3:11 PM

The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. writes that it is "easy to anticipate a far more under-center ground game coming" for Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown in 2026. Brown at one point called the Bengals a "top-five, top-10" defense during training camp. "They've been causing us problems all camp," Brown said. "Offensively, we started to find a groove there even though they presented us some pretty big challenges at the start." The 26-year-old former fifth-rounder from Illinois had his first 1,000-yard rushing season on 232 carries in 2025 and added six rushing scores and a career-best 69 receptions for 437 yards and five more TDs to finish as a top-10 fantasy RB. Based on everything we have heard this summer, the Bengals have designed their offense even more around Brown out of the backfield in 2026, making him a strong midrange RB1 target as he heads into his fourth year in the NFL. Not only has Brown become one of the best all-around players at his position in the league, but he really should not be threatened at all by Samaje Perine. In a prolific offense like Cincy's, if quarterback Joe Burrow stays healthy, Brown could even improve on his strong 2025 showing.