Who Should I Start? Chase Brown or Omarion Hampton

Friday, January 2, 1:26 PM

Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown (illness) returned to practice on Friday and will play on Sunday in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Cleveland Browns, according to Ben Baby of ESPN. Brown's availability for this weekend was in question after he missed the first two practices of the week due to illness. The 25-year-old will be ready to roll on Sunday, though, as he seeks the first 1,000-yard rushing season of his career. He heads into the final weekend of the regular season with 219 carries for 947 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground, adding a career-high 65 catches on 82 targets for 419 yards and four more touchdowns. Brown has been money for fantasy managers down the stretch and needs to remain in all starting lineups against Cleveland. In the season opener against the Browns, Brown had 21 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown.

Sunday, January 11, 7:42 PM

Los Angeles Chargers rookie running back Omarion Hampton (ankle) is officially active for Sunday's playoff contest against the New England Patriots. He had been listed as questionable and missed a pair of practices before being upgraded to a limited participant on Friday. Hampton sat out Week 18 with an ankle injury, but his absence was more of a precaution as Los Angeles rested many starters, and the rookie running back was just four weeks removed from a seven-game absence. He took a little while to get back to 100 percent after the injury, but his 81% snap share and 22 touches from Week 17 should indicate that he's back to a starter's workload. We wouldn't be surprised to see him handle another 20-plus touches against the Patriots, whose run defense started to falter down the stretch but still finished with the third-fewest fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs in 2025.