How to Approach Bengals Fantasy Football Options with Ja'Marr Chase's Status Up in the Air

Week 1 NFL regular season games are closing in, and players are getting ready to get their seasons off to great starts.

There are a few players who will have to wait a bit to make their season debuts, and one of those players could be Cincinnati Bengals’ Ja'Marr Chase, and he’s the focus of this article.

Let’s address the situation unfolding in Cincy and then offer up some start/sit options based on whether Chase plays or not.

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Chase Still Not Practicing

Chase is looking for a new deal, and hasn’t practiced much this offseason while waiting for a deal.

With a game against the New England Patriots on Sunday, Wednesday was a big day for Chase and the Bengals.

The Bengals’ offensive coordinator said the team has plans in place whether or not Chase is part of the game plan.

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Missing practice going into a game is never a good thing, regardless of how good a player it is. The Patriots’ defense also defended the pass pretty well last season, so getting some extra practice reps in would certainly help.

If Chase doesn’t play, it’s not like he’s easy to replace. In 16 games last season, he had 1,216 yards and seven touchdowns on 100 catches and 145 targets. A lot of that production was without Joe Burrow throwing to him too.

Bengals’ Fantasy Outlooks if Chase Plays/Sits

If a deal doesn’t get done and Chase does not suit up in week 1, the team’s starting options definitely change a bit.

Let’s begin with Burrow, who is projected for the ninth-most fantasy points among quarterbacks in week 1.

Not having his WR1 out there would be a big blow to the team, and certainly knock Burrow a few slots down the projections I’d think.

Burrow was a part of a start/sit QB decision story I put together earlier, and he’d fall below a few others in that story without Chase around. The way I see it, Burrow is indeed worthy of a start in week 1 and has top-10 fantasy potential, but without Chase, I’d drop Burrow from the top 10, which would only make him a good starting option in deeper leagues.

Zack Moss ranks 31st, while Chase Brown is 37th in the week 1 running back projections.

The Patriots’ defense was also stout against the run in 2023, but without Chase around, I’d expect the Bengals to lean more on Moss and Brown. It might not mean a lot more rushing attempts, but maybe some extra checkdowns and screens to try to loosen up the defense.

Both Moss and Brown are flex starting options for week 1, and I’d feel much better about starting them if Chase wasn’t out there. I prefer Moss over Brown for week 1. Determining whether or not to put them in your actual lineup depends on your other flex options (use the start/sit tool for help with those decisions).

If Chase does play, I’d only consider Moss in standard leagues, and that’d be as a flex option. Brown would only be a starting option for me in deeper formats.

Tee Higgins is the 24th-ranked wide receiver in the week 1 projections, but that’s with Chase in the lineup. He'd probably move up several slots if Chase were out.

Higgins is a borderline starting option against a tough Patriots’ defense, but I’d lean against starting him in week 1 if Chase were out there. If Chase doesn’t play, then I think Higgins needs to start as the clear WR1 for Cincy. The matchup still isn’t great, but he’d pretty easily be the most-targeted receiver, and that should mean a good fantasy showing. 

No other receivers appear in the top 74 slots of our week 1 projections. Andrei Iosivas was projected to be the third starting receiver for the Bengals, and would take on a bigger role this week, but I don’t think Chase being out should elevate him into a starting role in any format. I’d definitely consider him as a flex option in a deeper format, but would prefer to stay away from anyone outside Higgins if Chase is out.

Rookie Jermaine Burton, Trenton Irwin and Charlie Jones are the other wideouts on the active roster who would help replace the snaps Chase would normally play. They’d all get a slight fantasy boost for the week, but outside the deepest of fantasy leagues, I’d try to avoid playing these guys.

The Bengals open the season with no clear leader in the tight end room, and until one of Mike Gesicki, Drew Sample, Tanner Hudson or rookie Erick All Jr. steps up, none of them are options in standard leagues.

If we knew that one of these TEs was going to dominate the snaps, they’d be a possible deep league starting option with Chase out, but because we don’t know that, I’d just stay away from starting them all.

I still like the Bengals to win against the Patriots if Chase doesn’t play, but it definitely tightens things up quite a bit, along with altering the fantasy outlooks for several Cincy players. 

Keep an eye out for news regarding the Chase situation and adjust your lineup accordingly. Make sure to have a backup plan ready in case Chase’s status isn’t known until just before kickoff.