Who Should I Start? Chase Brown or Kaleb Johnson


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
15.3 56.7 0.4 3.6 24.4 0.2

Chase Brown News

Chase Brown Earns Praise from His Quarterback, Could See Massive Involvement in 2026

Thursday, July 30, 5:37 AM

Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown was brought up during Joe Burrow's training camp opening press conference on Wednesday, and the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback was effusive in his praise of his fourth-year backfield mate. Burrow told reporters, "He does everything. He's a complete back... He trains as a receiver all offseason, you wouldn't know that he's a running back when he's out there doing it." Burrow went on about Brown's versatility and importance to the offense before making a bold statement about his projected usage for 2026. "Obviously we're going to try to get the ball in [Ja'Marr Chase's] hands as many times as we can, but I think a close second is Chase Brown." The 2023 fifth-round pick made a career-high 69 catches on 86 targets in 2025, and if those numbers see even modest improvement in 2026, Brown could prove to be one of the safest selections in the early rounds of drafts, currently ranked as RotoBaller's RB10.


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
0.8 5.1 0.0 0.1 0.8 0.0

Kaleb Johnson News

Kaleb Johnson Seeing Opportunities with First-Team Offense

Friday, July 31, 7:11 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson earned a third-down rep with the first-team offense on Friday, as pointed out by Steelers beat writer Nick Farabaugh. Friday's session was a low-intensity walk-through, so Johnson's work with the starting offense carries less signal than it might in a full-padded practice, but his dynasty managers will surely welcome any signs of momentum gained. Johnson was a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft but disappointed as a rookie with only 69 rushing yards on 28 carries. He now looks for a clean slate with a brand new coaching staff, and while he remains firmly behind Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle on the depth chart, his presence in a situational third-down role should be viewed with encouragement in a Steelers offense likely to continue featuring its backs in the passing game. Johnson is outside RotoBaller's top 300 players for 2026 and has fallen to RB57 in the latest dynasty rankings.


Chase Brown vs. Kaleb Johnson

Still trying to decide between Brown and Johnson? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Chase Brown is projected to score 15.3 points this week while Kaleb Johnson is projected to score 0.8 points.