Who Should I Start? Chase Brown or Kaleb Johnson

Saturday, November 15, 12:25 PM

Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown hasn't played as well as expected. He began the 2025 campaign by finding the end zone in Week 1 against the Browns. Unfortunately, the 25-year-old didn't score again until the narrow one-point loss to the New York Jets back in Week 8. It's safe to say he has a way to go before earning back the trust of fantasy managers, especially since he's struggled to get much going on the ground. However, Brown has at least made up for it by scoring two touchdowns against the Jets and totaling eight catches in the Week 9 meeting with the Chicago Bears. He's trending in the right direction and should see even more snaps with Samaje Perine (ankle) ruled out. As a result, Brown can continue to be viewed as a starting fantasy option in Week 11 versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Friday, November 7, 7:59 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Kaleb Johnson was going as a late-round flier with upside in fantasy drafts this fall, but he was quickly sent to the waiver wire. The 22-year-old third-rounder out of Iowa has been a distant third on Pittsburgh's RB depth chart behind Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell this year, and he didn't help himself with a costly special-teams blunder early in the season. So far through his first five NFL games, Johnson has handled only 15 rushing attempts for 40 yards (2.7 yards per carry) while catching one of his two targets for nine yards. He played five offensive snaps in last week's win over the Indianapolis Colts, which was actually an improvement after not playing at all the previous two games. It will take an injury to Warren or Gainwell for Johnson to get more involved, which means he's only stash-worthy in fantasy football in dynasty/keeper leagues.