A.J. Brown vs Chase Brown

“At 28, Brown is a big upgrade for a Patriots passing game that ranked fifth in the league, a huge improvement from the Eagles’ 27th-ranked unit.”

“A.J. Brown was the round two pick, built on a significant situational upgrade. His new offense ranked ninth in neutral passing rate last year, compared to his old offense’s 15th-ranked mark, and that gap could widen further with continued quarterback development, a new star receiver alongside him, and a tougher schedule that should force more passing.”

“Even in a “down” season, Brown topped 1,000 yards receiving on a run-first offense and scored seven touchdowns. In ESPN’s open score and PFF’s receiving grade — both metrics that seek to evaluate a wide receiver’s performance even if he’s not targeted on a passing play — Brown ranked No. 9 and No. 13 out of over a hundred wideouts.”

“Getting AJ Brown, who was the WR5 over the final seven games of 2025, cannot hurt Maye. All three Ballers think he is a receiver who could truly finish as the WR1 overall.”

“Brown gives Drake Maye the true alpha this offense needed. Now he climbed into Maye's draft pocket, and while he can still pay off pick 16, the price feels closer to stacking tax than pure value.”

“Andrew Erickson isn't worried about A.J. Brown's "down" season. He believes it created a buying opportunity. Despite modest touchdown totals last year, Brown still produced at a high level while commanding an elite target share. Erickson expects Josh McDaniels to feature Brown as the unquestioned focal point of New England's passing attack. If that happens, Brown could easily return to top-three fantasy wide receiver production.”

“A.J. Brown and Dallas Goedert each missed just one game due to injury. Brown has since been traded.”

“Repeating a first-place ranking in both categories is unlikely, and it will be even more challenging if the offensive line can't take a step forward in protecting Maye, even with A.J. Brown added to the receiver room.”

“Since entering the league in 2019, Brown has consistently demonstrated an ability to rack up massive yards after the catch (YAC) numbers, but has never been a true volume-based receiver. If one were to remove his totals for the 2023 season (which was an outlier), Brown averaged fewer than 70 receptions per season.”

“The analysts believe fantasy managers may be underestimating just how much upside exists in A.J. Brown's new situation. Derek Brown pointed to improvements in offensive philosophy and red-zone passing opportunities as reasons for optimism, and there was confidence that Brown remains one of the league's premier target earners.”

“In a putrid Eagles' passing attack last season, Brown was ninth in target share, 13th in air yards and eighth in red-zone target share. Now he moves to a team with an ascending passing quarterback and an offense that targets its receivers downfield.”

“A.J. Brown was involved in a trade that prompted rankings updates from the Fantasy Footballers.”

“Fantasy Football Trends to Know Chase Brown (RB – CIN) Unfortunately, the Bengals’ offense fell apart when Joe Burrow suffered a turf toe injury early in the year. Thankfully, it improved after the team traded for Joe Flacco .”

“If the Bengals do have any spike in rushing scores, that is more fire to a surging Chase Brown this summer. Brown played 73.9% of the snaps in the red zone, which was RB5 on the season.”

“Still, Brown may be one of the few backs who can finish in the top five this season.”

“Round 2: Chase Brown (RB – CIN) Chase Brown was the counter-pick, viewed internally as a true first-round talent despite a far lower market price. The comparison drawn is directly to James Cook : all it takes is the offense clicking and staying healthy for Chase Brown to replicate what Buffalo got out of Cook two seasons ago.”

“Let's say you spend an early draft pick on Chase Brown. Some fantasy managers believe that if you draft Brown, you should also draft his primary backup, Samaje Perine. But Perine has no stand-alone value and would be nothing more than an insurance policy—and probably a bad one, since Perine would have a hard time matching Brown's numbers even if he inherited Brown's volume.”

“With all the changes this offseason, one thing has remained consistent: Chase Brown is their lead back. On a flailing Bengals team last season, Brown finished as the fantasy RB8. Currently being drafted as the RB10, there is plenty of upside.”

“One of my concerns for rostering Chase Brown was, "are they going to add another running back?" The concerns were squashed when they didn't add anyone through free agency or the draft. With the backfield all to himself, Brown feels like an extremely safe pick. From Week 6 on, Brown was the RB7, averaging 17.3 FPPG and 100 total yards per game.”

“Chase Brown proved he was far more than just an early-down runner in 2025. His 0.23 Targets Per Route Run ranked seventh among all running backs, placing him alongside elite receiving backs like Jahmyr Gibbs, De'Von Achane, Christian McCaffrey, and Bijan Robinson.”

“Brown has been a revelation ever since emerging from his quiet rookie season. After handling just 58 touches with one touchdown in 2023, he has scored 22 touchdowns across the past two seasons. Brown finished inside the top 10 in target share among running backs last season, which is impressive enough considering he has Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to compete against for targets.”

“We already know that Joe Burrow has eyes for Chase/Higgins/Chase Brown, and everything leftover goes to Mike Gesicki.”

“Chase Brown possesses explosive traits, though he is an incumbent Bengals starter with the team already having younger talent in the backfield.”

“Even with Samaje Perine still involved, the hosts believed Brown's workload and offensive environment create legitimate top-five fantasy upside.”