Who Should I Start? Tee Higgins or Chase Brown

Sunday, March 16, 11:39 PM

After signing wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase to a record four-year, $161 million deal with $112 million guaranteed on Sunday night, the Cincinnati Bengals then turned around and signed receiver Tee Higgins to a four-year, $115 million deal to make him the highest-paid No. 2 wideout in NFL history, according to FOX Sports' Jordan Schultz. The first two years of Higgins' new deal are guaranteed. Cincy put the franchise tag on Higgins for the second straight year, but it only served as a placeholder before they locked the 26-year-old up long term. Although the former second-rounder (33rd overall) in 2020 out of Clemson only played in 12 games (nine starts) in 2024 due to injuries, he excelled when on the field and finished with a 73-911-10 line. His 10 scores were a new career-high. Although Chase takes valuable targets away from Higgins, he still has two 1,000-yard seasons and two 900-yard seasons, making him a strong WR2 target in fantasy.

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.