Who Should I Start? Chase Brown or Trey Benson

Friday, September 6, 9:41 PM

Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown ran for 179 yards off 44 carries in his rookie season, adding 14 grabs for 156 yards and a touchdown. With Joe Mixon now in Houston, many anticipate the 24-year-old will be more involved than ever. Granted, Cincinnati signed Zack Moss to a two-year deal this offseason, so he'll also be on the field. However, there's a good chance both players will split carries equally out of the backfield throughout the 2024-25 campaign. With that in mind, the Bengals will begin the year with a Week 1 matchup versus the New England Patriots. But Ja'Marr Chase (not injury-related) and Tee Higgins (hamstring) may not suit up. If that's the case, Brown deserves flex consideration in every fantasy format, considering he may see more carries and targets from Joe Burrow.

Saturday, September 7, 5:46 AM

Arizona Cardinals running back Trey Benson finished the preseason with 17 carries for 64 rushing yards. The third-round pick out of Florida State was once believed to be a threat to James Conner's playing time but it appears the rookie will have to wait a while before he makes his mark on the league. In recent comments to the press, offensive coordinator Drew Petzing reaffirmed the team's commitment to using Conner as their primary running back, referring to him as the "bell cow in that room." While Benson's performance during training camp and the preseason solidified his role as Conner's direct backup, not much should be expected of the rookie out of the gate. Given Conner's injury history, Benson is certainly a worthwhile bench stash but the bench is exactly where he should be on fantasy rosters in Week 1.