Few NFL offenses have produced as many fireworks as the Cincinnati Bengals over the last few seasons — after all, how could a unit that includes Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins not sustain elite fantasy football players? Adding Chase Brown to that unit only increased the upside last year, and expectations were once again set high for 2025. However, the situation in Cincy took a turn for the worse in Week 2 when Burrow went down with a turf toe injury which will sideline him for around three months.
With the star quarterback out for the foreseeable future, what happens to the fantasy football outlook for Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Chase Brown? Can fantasy managers still count on the three to put up points even with Jake Browning at quarterback?
Evaluating the Bengals’ offense without Joe Burrow
Look, a world without Joe Burrow suiting up for the Bengals is a scary one. Losing a starting quarterback almost always hurts, especially one who ranks among the four or five best talents at the sport’s most important position. The LSU product can make throws most signal-callers only dream of and has made the Cincinnati offense one of the most desirable units for fantasy football players. His absence absolutely hurts the team, but how do things play out on the virtual gridiron with Jake Browning under center?
Ja’Marr Chase
The injury to Burrow sparked panic among many fantasy managers with Ja’Marr Chase on their rosters. The reaction feels natural given the connection between the two teammates which has kept Chase among the top wideouts in fantasy football year in and year out, and it’s incredibly difficult to replace the chemistry the two share both on the field and off. However, Week 2’s results were encouraging as even once Burrow went down, the Bengals’ top receiver saw an excess of targets to turn in an outstanding fantasy week.
Chase saw 16 total targets in that game, catching 14 for 165 yards and a touchdown. While the score came with Burrow still in the game, Browning was quick to look in Chase’s direction and still helped him finish with a massive 36.5 fantasy points in PPR formats. Some people may point to the wideout’s performance over the last seven weeks of 2023 which Burrow missed due to injury, a stretch that saw Chase post just 11.74 FPPG with Browning at quarterback. However, the folks at Reception Perception pointed out that compared to that sample, the receiver now runs a much more varied route tree with fewer downfield shots and more opportunities to create yards after the catch in the short game.
The backup quarterback may not have the arm Burrow does, but this type of usage should ensure Chase remains perfectly startable in all formats as long as he sees decent target volume, even if the deep-threat appeal and scoring opportunities lessen.
Tee Higgins
While there’s little reason to truly worry about Chase in fantasy, the Burrow injury does probably bring a greater impact for Tee Higgins. Where the former excels at creating yardage with his after-catch ability, the latter doesn’t bring the same speed and agility to make the most of targets in the short and intermediate game. Higgins is a fine enough route runner, but he won’t see the same quality of targets with Browning as he did with Burrow under center.
Higgins comes off a career-best fantasy campaign of 18.5 FPPG, production propped up in large part by 10 touchdowns. If the offense falters some with Browning and scoring opportunities decrease, the wideout’s fantasy numbers may drop off a bit. Now, he did average 13.16 FPPG over five games with Browning in 2023, but he scored three touchdowns in that span and scored just 9.2, 6.2 and 2.9 points in three of those five games. His two weeks of 20+ points were those he scored touchdowns in, and he notably saw eight targets in each.
That’s not to say Higgins can’t stay fantasy-relevant with Browning, but with Chase’s route tree shifting to earn more of the easier looks, Higgins may become even more touchdown-dependent. He’s shakier start now than when Burrow was healthy, so he fills the role of a FLEX with upside rather than reliable WR2 in lineups for now.
Chase Brown
One player who may actually see an uptick in fantasy value without Burrow is Chase Brown. The thought process here is simple — with a lesser talent at quarterback, the Bengals may run the ball more to insulate Browning. There’s some risk here since defenses can key on that weakness and send an extra defender into the box, but Brown already finds himself with an elite workload and can continue that trend moving forward.
While Brown hasn’t been particularly efficient with his touches, rushing for 90 yards on a paltry 2.4 yards per carry, he’s still seen 37 attempts on the ground through his first two games of 2025. That’s bell-cow usage, and Brown could also become more of a priority in the passing game via easy reads and checkdown bailouts with Browning at quarterback. His 13.1 and 8.5 points in Week 1 and Week 2 aren’t quite the RB1 production many fantasy managers expected, but better days could be coming soon as the offense shifts its approach in the absence of its star quarterback.
