Who Should I Start? Jake Browning or Kaleb Johnson

Monday, September 15, 10:51 AM

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning could see an extended run as his team's starting quarterback with the news that Joe Burrow (toe) will require surgery on his injured toe and may miss three months. Browning replaced Burrow in the second quarter of Cincinnati's Week 2 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and finished the game by completing 21 of 32 pass attempts for 241 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. He also logged a one-yard rushing touchdown. Browning had an extended run as the injury replacement for Burrow in 2023 and performed adequately from a fantasy perspective. In seven starts, Browning completed 70.4% of his 243 pass attempts for 1,936 yards, 12 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He also showed a little bit of juice with his legs, rushing for 127 yards and three touchdowns. Browning has an explosive supporting cast of pass-catchers to work with in Cincinnati and could be a startable fantasy quarterback going forward as a streamer or injury replacement, particularly in Superflex formats.

Friday, September 12, 10:25 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson was hardly involved in his regular-season debut and will likely operate as the team's RB3 again this week against the Seattle Seahawks. Fantasy managers who drafted Johnson with high expectations must exercise patience with the rookie if they plan to keep him rostered. Johnson played just two offensive snaps last week and primarily operated as a kick returner. However, his utilization could see an uptick soon if Kenneth Gainwell continues to struggle with inefficiency as he did in Week 1. For the time being, Johnson is a bench stash with the potential to serve as a complement to Jaylen Warren later in the season. He should not be considered in fantasy lineups on Sunday.