Bengals Fantasy Football Preview: With Joe Burrow Back, are Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins Weekly Starting Options Again?

Breaking down the Cincinnati Bengals best fantasy football players for the upcoming season.

Let’s tackle another NFL team fantasy football preview.

Check back soon for more team previews. Of course, things will change between now and the start of the season, and FantasySP will cover any major changes when those happen.

Here’s all the team previews we’ve already covered:

AFC: Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans

NFC: San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Commanders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints

Let’s talk about the Cincinnati Bengals now.

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Joe Burrow Fantasy Outlook

Burrow is healthy again and ready to get back on track in 2024.

He played in just 10 games a season ago, and surprisingly, the team went just 5-5. Burrow completed 244 of his 365 passes for 2,309 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. He was pretty far off the pace from his 34- and 35-passing TD seasons from 2021 and 2022.

Burrow added 88 rushing yards and no scores on 31 attempts. He rushed for at least two touchdowns in his first three seasons in the league, but an injury coming into last season shut him down as a runner.

Burrow is QB7 and going around pick 62 right now. If he stays healthy, there’s no reason why he couldn’t be a top-five fantasy finisher at the position - there’s also a few QBs taken after him who could outscore him too. Still, I like Burrow around his ADP and would be just fine making him my fantasy QB1 - I’d be sure to protect him with a second option in leagues where less starting QBs are available on the waiver wire.

Running Back Fantasy Outlooks

Zack Moss and Chase Brown will lead the Cincinnati backfield in 2024. Trayveon Williams is a backup option.

Moss comes to Cincy after a solid showing in Indianapolis last season. In 14 games, Moss rushed for 794 yards and five scores on 183 attempts. He added 192 receiving yards and two scores on 27 catches and 37 targets.

Brown did some solid things in his rookie season. Across 12 contests, Brown had 179 yards and no touchdowns on 44 rushing attempts. He had 156 receiving yards and a score on 14 catches and 15 targets.

Williams is entering his sixth year in the league, but hasn’t accomplished much to this point. He had 79 total yards on 22 touches last season, and has still not scored an NFL touchdown in his career.

Moss is the top-drafted Cincinnati back right now. He’s RB28 and going around pick 82, while Brown is RB37 and going around pick 106.

All signs point to Moss being RB1 in Cincy, but I think this ends up more like a two-RB committee than anything. Neither back costs a high draft pick, so there isn’t a ton of risk involved. Both could be startable as flex options in standard leagues, and at this point in a fantasy draft, I’m fine taking either guy. Those two are definitely better deep league options, with Brown taking the edge in dynasty leagues as the younger option. 

Williams can be avoided outside the deepest of fantasy leagues. He’d likely only have a significant offensive role if Moss and Brown were both out injured.

Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlooks

Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are back to lead the Cincinnati wide receiver room. Andrei Iosivas is expected to serve as the third starter. Trenton Irwin, Charlie Jones and rookie Jermaine Burton are the top backups at this point.

Chase played in 16 games last season, but only scored seven touchdowns without Burrow around for most of the season. He caught 100 of his 145 targets for 1,216 yards. Chase had 13 touchdown grabs as a rookie and nine in 2023 despite playing in just 12 games.

Higgins only played in 12 games in 2023. He had 42 receptions on 76 targets for 656 yards and five touchdowns. Higgins had at least 900 yards and six touchdowns in his first three seasons.

Iosivas appeared in 16 games in his first NFL season. He had 116 yards and four touchdowns on 15 receptions and 25 targets. 

Irwin had 316 yards and a touchdown on 25 catches and 32 targets in his fifth NFL season. He appeared in 16 games and made five starts.

Jones primarily was just a returner in his rookie season. He returned a punt for a score. As a receiver, Jones had 64 yards on seven grabs and nine targets, while adding 13 rushing yards on two attempts.

Burton was a third-round pick in the 2024 draft. He had 101 yards and a touchdown on four preseason catches. He had a couple solid seasons at Georgia before two more good seasons at Alabama. Burton had 21 receiving touchdowns across his four years in college.

Chase is still the top dog in Cincy. He’s WR4 and going around pick six right now. 

With Burrow back and a less proven WR room (minus Tyler Boyd), Chase should be in store for a huge season. I actually think Chase should be going earlier in fantasy drafts, maybe even as early as pick four. If you can get him later, then that’s even better.

Higgins is who to target after Chase. He’s WR29 and going around pick 58. He may have to play second fiddle to Chase, but without Boyd around now, I see Higgins being one of the top WR2s in the league. Seeing some of the other receivers going around Higgins, I’m all for taking him around his ADP.

The other Cincinnati wideouts are all deep league options. Burton is actually the next one off draft boards, and even though he might not start or log heavy snaps right away, I too like Burton after Chase and Higgins. He’s an especially good option in dynasty leagues and is worth stashing for a year (if he can’t make an immediate impact).

I’d avoid drafting anyone else, and instead view them all as streaming/waiver wire options for the season. It’d probably take an injury to Chase or Higgins for another receiver to consistently be involved with the Bengals’ offense.

Tight End Fantasy Outlooks

Mike Gesicki is the team’s new top tight end. Drew Sample, Tanner Hudson and rookie Erick All Jr. are some backup options.

Gesicki was with the Patriots in 2023. In 17 games, he made 29 grabs on 45 targets for 244 yards and two touchdowns. 

Hudson appeared in 12 games with the Bengals in 2023. He had 352 yards and one touchdown on 39 catches and 50 targets.

Sample played in all 17 games with the team last season. He made 22 receptions on 27 targets for 163 yards and two touchdowns.

All was a fourth-round pick of the Bengals in the draft. He didn’t have huge numbers in any of his five college seasons at Michigan and Iowa. He did have his best year in 2023, going for 299 yards and three touchdowns.

None of the Bengals’ tight ends are draft options in standard leagues, and it’s hard to pinpoint which player might be the top option for a possible deep league pick. Gesicki is the top drafted Bengal TE at TE23 and around pick 218.

I’m not sold on any of the team’s TEs right now, and would prefer they all open the year as waiver wire options. That won’t happen in deeper leagues, but I’d try to look elsewhere for a backup tight end.

All has some value in dynasty leagues, but he looks buried on the depth chart behind three average or worse TEs. That’s not a great sign for a fourth-round pick, so unless it’s a deep dynasty, I’d treat All as a waiver wire option too. 

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