Who Should I Start? Roschon Johnson or Chase Brown

Saturday, January 4, 9:13 AM

Chicago Bears running back Roschon Johnson remains the No. 2 option on the depth chart, keeping him off the fantasy radar in most leagues ahead of his Week 18 matchup against the Green Bay Packers. There's always a chance the eliminated Bears could give increased snaps to some of their younger players, like Johnson, while reducing the workload for veterans such as running back D'Andre Swift. However, the Bears have stayed pretty quiet about their personnel decisions, and as of Saturday, there's no indication that Johnson's workload will change for the regular-season finale. He has just five carries for eight yards over his last two games, and prior to that, he missed nearly three full contests. As a result, he hasn't caught a pass nor found the end zone since Week 12 against Minnesota. This week, he and Swift will take on a Packers run defense that has allowed the 15th-fewest fantasy points to running backs in 2024, but the third-most catches and receiving yards. Johnson ranks as an RB4 in fantasy football and should continue to be benched in most leagues.

Tuesday, March 4, 5:41 PM

Bengals beat writer Geoff Hobson gets the sense that the Cincinnati Bengals are looking to go bigger for a complement to lead back Chase Brown this offseason with Zack Moss' (neck) status unclear. Brown played big as a three-down back in 2024 after Moss' injury and racked up an impressive 1,350 scrimmage yards on 283 touches while also protecting quarterback Joe Burrow, but offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher wouldn't mind another big and physical back to help Brown out. "The easy answer is Chase isn't the biggest guy, so maybe if you have an opportunity to add a bigger back with a little more power repertoire to his game, that size helps you in protection," Pitcher said. The 24-year-old Brown finished as the RB12 in half-PPR scoring in 2024 thanks to his workhorse role, and although he should remain the lead back in a high-scoring offense, fantasy managers should expect some regression.