Ambiguous Backfield Breakdown: Cincinnati Bengals
Welcome back to the Ambiguous Backfield Breakdown series. In this article, I examine a handful of NFL backfields that have sparked conversation in the fantasy football world, going through each player and their outlooks for this season.
This piece will be about the Cincinnati Bengals, highlighted by Zack Moss and Chase Brown. With Joe Mixon leaving for the Houston Texans, the Bengals brought in the former Colt Moss on a two-year, eight-million dollar deal to pair with their second-year back Brown. These two players are very different in their play styles, but both have intriguing outlooks for fantasy football. When considering cost and outlook, which of these backs do we want in fantasy?
Zack Moss
According to DLF ADP, Moss is currently being drafted as the RB43 in dynasty drafts, with ten running back spots behind Brown. You could get him for a back-end second-round pick in a trade. At 26 years of age, is he even worth touching?
Moss spent the first couple of years of his career in Buffalo; he was ineffective for them and then was a backup in Indianapolis until his name was called, and he did excellent work for the Colts. Overall, in his 14-game season, he put up nearly 1,000 total scrimmage yards and seven touchdowns, but especially in weeks 2-5, he had a monster stretch because Jonathan Taylor was out. In those weeks, he averaged over 110 rushing yards per game and made a good impact in the receiving game.
While the fantasy stats were there, was Moss good? If you look deeper into it, you may be surprised. Per Pro Football Focus statistics, Moss was outside the top 30 among all running backs who saw 50 rushes last year in yards after contact per attempt and 10+ yard runs. He was also outside the top 24 in run grade and elusive rating. In terms of creating yards, Moss could have been better last season. The scheme that Indianapolis ran with their excellent offensive line and Shane Steichen as head coach benefited Moss and made him look like something he was not.
Cincinnati just lost their offensive coordinator and has a less talented offensive line than Indianapolis, meaning it is reasonable to question if Moss could do the same in Cincinnati. A 26-year-old running back on his third team also tends to be a bad bet in fantasy, so Moss is the perfect dead-zone running back that should generally be avoided in drafts. He could start the season with some solid volume, which could bring us value, but if he is not good with it, then he will slowly lose it to other options in this backfield.
Chase Brown
According to DLF ADP, Brown is being selected just outside dynasty drafts’ top 30 running backs. At just 24 years of age, is he worth the premium cost over Moss’s discount?
Last season, we did not get to experience the Chase Brown show much due to Mixon taking the lead role in the Bengals’ backfield, but when he did receive an opportunity, he flashed some electric play-making ability. His speed, combined with his agility, can take any run to the house. He took a dump-off pass and turned it into a 54-yard touchdown last season.
Brown is explosive. Managers’ only concern is whether they can handle a more significant workload. The argument is fair since in his rookie year, he never displayed that skillset. However, that was more due to Mixon in his way rather than his skills. In college, Brown weighed in at around 210 pounds, and in his final season, he put up 1,883 total yards on 355 touches in 12 games. He did it in college, so he has the potential to handle a sizeable workload in the big leagues.
Brown is worth the risk at his draft cost. His explosive nature and talent in the passing game could slowly but surely beat out Moss, who has already lost plenty of first-team reps to Brown in training camp. If he were to take the lead in this backfield at his age point, he could quickly be looked at as a premium running back to own in dynasty.
Conclusion
Overall, this backfield is worth investing in due to how potent the Bengals offense should be with Joe Burrow and company for the next couple of seasons. I want Chase Brown over Zack Moss, though. Brown presents more upside due to his natural abilities as a pass catcher and his electricity at every area of the field, compared to Moss, who has almost never been that good of a running back.
Thank you for checking out this article. See you next time!
- Ambiguous Backfield Breakdown: Cincinnati Bengals - August 24, 2024
- Ambiguous Backfield Breakdown: Washington Commanders - August 15, 2024
- Ambiguous Backfield Breakdowns: Los Angeles Chargers - August 7, 2024
