Bengals' Chase Brown is earning his stripes with breakout 2024 campaign

Brown has excelled this season as the lead back in Cincinnati.

In recent weeks, Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown has seen his first action as the number one option for the team since being selected in last year’s draft. He hasn't disappointed.

But, this is not a surprise. The Canadian-born baller was accustomed to being the feature back in an offense. Now we should get used to him getting the tiger’s share of carries for the Bengals. And we should be ok with that. Brown was a perfect option at running back for the Bengals ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft. It took a minute, but he finally had the opportunity to show why. 

Brown is used to a heavy workload

You should know that Brown can carry a heavy workload. He did it his entire college career. While at Illinois, he was one of college football’s biggest workhorses. In his final year at Illinois, Brown had the second-most rushes among all college running backs. He produced the fourth most rushing yards in college football. 

Just because he has not yet done so in the NFL doesn't mean he can’t. He just hadn't received the opportunity until now. 

Last year, he was behind Joe Mixon and Trayveon Williams. Mixon is having a season that makes Bengals fans regret losing him to the Texans. However, Brown can be just as good given the opportunities as we saw in Week 9 against Las Vegas when he got 27 carries. 

Cincinnati signed Zack Moss with the intention of him being the starter, even though the prevailing thought was that the two running backs would share the rushing duties. But the whole time, we knew that if the former Fighting Illini had to get the yeoman's share of carries, it wouldn't be a problem. 

A dynamic, yet patient rusher

What we've seen from Brown this year is what we saw from him in college. He is an explosive runner who can break off big runs at any time. He runs hard and explodes through holes with incredible quickness. He's currently tied with Ravens running back Derrick Henry for sixth in the NFL in yards before contact. 

Brown’s speed and explosiveness were already on display last season. Next Gen Stats clocked him at the second-fastest play of the season. 

However, Brown also prides himself on running between the tackles and getting the tough three yards when necessary. He can get the first down in short-yardage situations and navigate heavy traffic at the goal line. He has the eighth-most broken tackles in the league among running backs. 

Capable pass catcher

Brown had 27 catches for 240 yards in his last year at Illinois. He tied for the second-most receiving touchdowns by a running back with three. Most of Brown’s receiving stats came from check-downs rather than designed pass plays targeted for him. So far this season, Brown has 21 receptions for 98 yards and two receiving touchdowns. 

Underrated pass blocker

In college, Brown never left the field. When he was not running the ball 400 times a season, he helped protect his quarterback. While at Illinois, Brown faced a challenging matchup against Wisconsin’s Nick Herbig. On several occasions in his senior year, Brown found himself one-on-one with the prolific pass rusher and he fared well.

Herbig, a fourth-round selection by the Steelers, is considered one of the up-and-coming best pass rushers in the NFL. We could see that play out again when the Bengals and Steelers face each other later this season. 

Brown performed admirably against edge rushers, defensive tackles, blitzing linebackers, and defensive backs when pass-blocking. It shows up on tape in every game he played his senior year. There is no reason to think he can’t do the same if called upon in the NFL. 

Areas of improvement

The one area where Brown must show improvement is in his yards after contact. He ranks 44th out of 46 eligible ball carriers in that department. In 46th place is Zack Moss. So perhaps that is something that running backs coach Justin Hill can focus on in the future. 

Nevertheless, Brown’s ability to break tackles and quickness in and out of traffic mitigate his low yards-after-contact ranking. 

Another area Brown must take care of is ball protection. He has one fumble this season. But it was nearly a very costly one against the New York Giants that fortunately found the sidelines before being recovered by a defensive player. 

Going forward

The Bengals made a trade-deadline acquisition when they grabbed Khalil Hebert from the Chicago Bears for a seventh-round pick. Having Hebert on the roster should not affect Brown’s workload for the rest of the season. However, it gives the team another option in the backfield, along with Trayveon Williams, to help take some of the load off his capable shoulders.

Heading into the season, Brown was named the biggest X-factor for Cincinnati in 2024. That factor multiplies due to the injury to Zack Moss. 

With Moss sidelined for the foreseeable future with a significant injury, expect Brown’s role to keep expanding with the team. And don't be surprised when he does an excellent job.