I think the No. 1 rule of fantasy football is to not overreact and panic. I’m not suggesting that you don’t intake new information as it becomes available and use said information to make decisions, but sample size is also crucial. Nowhere is this line of thinking more applicable heading into Week 5 than in Cincinnati’s backfield.
Chase Brown had a huge performance in Sunday’s contest against the Panthers, rushing for 80 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Bengals’ first victory of the season.
However, this article isn’t really going to be about Brown. It’s going to be about how now seems like a fantastic opportunity to buy-low on Zack Moss. With how excited people have gotten about Brown over the last 48 hours, you’d think Moss was barely on the field for Cincinnati in Week 4. That would be incorrect. While Moss did see his lowest snap rate of the season, it was still 59.7%. In fact, for 2024 as a whole, Moss’ snap share (70.1%) makes him one of just 10 running backs who are lining up for at least 70% of their team’s plays.
One of the biggest reasons for the Bengals’ reliance on Moss is his strength in pass protection. The man is an animal when it comes to blocking for Joe Burrow and that’s the kind of stuff that will keep you on the field as a three-down back.
Despite Brown’s big game, Moss finished Week 4 with a team-high 19 touches and 78 scrimmage yards. He also found his way into the end zone with a one-yard reception. Through four games, Moss still has garnered 63.2% of Cincinnati’s red zone rushing attempts — another area were the veteran RB sits in the top 10 at his position.
Brown is obviously a talent and his hyper-efficient play is going to earn him more looks and opportunities. However, a couple vultured goal line carries is not enough evidence to make me question Moss’ hold on this depth chart. He remains the RB1 with the Bengals and should be valued as such.
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All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
