Now going into Year 3, Brown is ready for an even greater workload, whether that’s carrying the ball or catching passes, and Cincinnati is trusting his growth as a way to help the offense take another step forward this season. That is showing early in training camp so far, with Brown getting plenty of opportunities to make plays through the first week and a half of practices.
“I’m not surprised by anything I see from Chase Brown, but again, he loves football, No. 1,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said of Brown earlier this year. “His energy is contagious, and the details are important to him. Getting better every day is important to him. He’s one of those guys you can really lean on just to be consistent every single day, and that’s a key piece of our offense. And he’s done a great job kind of just edging in there with a ton of great playmakers on offense and making himself a priority, like we got to get this guy the ball in as many ways as possible. And you say that with all the other weapons we already have, and so that’s just a credit to him to find his niche and forcing us to have to give him the ball as many times as possible.”
Brown fell just shy of 1,000 yards rushing last year and added 360 yards receiving and 11 total touchdowns, including seven on the ground.
The Bengals originally planned on using him and Moss as a two-headed monster in the running backs room, but when Moss went down with a neck injury in Week 9, Brown took over and ran with the opportunity. Cincinnati released Moss this week, after restructuring his contract this offseason, but it was pretty clear the Bengals were making Brown the focal point of the running game well before the roster move was made.
Brown was used to being a workhorse in college and has been preparing for more of a load ever since he arrived in Cincinnati as a fifth-round draft pick in 2023. He didn’t need to adjust his routine this offseason to be ready for it.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“I prepare the same every single year, whether I was third string or starting this year, so my mindset is the same and hasn’t changed at all,” Brown said. “I’m trying to find ways to get better, expand my game and become more of a threat to teams in this league, so I’m coming into this year with the same mindset, trying to start off as fast as possible, though. I feel like with the way we’re running the ball right now and the way the offense is meshing, I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
Cincinnati parted ways with running game coordinator and offensive line coach Frank Pollack in January and didn’t include that first part of the title in the job description for his replacement, Scott Peters.
The run game coordination is coming from the offensive staff bringing ideas to defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, who now holds that as part of his title coming from the other direction.
“I think with what the new staff has brought to the table, I really like the direction we’re going,” Brown said. “We’re popping off some really explosive runs and I’m just excited to see how it continues to develop and how good it’s going to be Week 1.”
The running game extends to short passes Burrow is making to Brown, Samaje Perine and rookie Tahj Brooks, who is showing flashes in camp as well. Working on his receiving skills was a big emphasis for Brown this offseason, and he knows a major part of his role in Cincinnati’s offense will be in the passing game.
Brown said he was confident as a protector last year but is still trying to build on that, as well.
“Catching the ball out of the backfield last year was a big part of why I was successful in this offense, so I’m just going to keep on building that with Coach Pitch (Dan Pitcher) installing some more stuff for me, lining up in the slot and just finding ways to move the ball, so I’m just trying to make the most of those opportunities and score touchdowns,” Brown said.
Quarterback Joe Burrow is looking forward to seeing the impact an improved running game can have on the offense this year, but he likes what he’s seeing so far in camp.
“I’m very excited about it,” Burrow said. “Obviously, Chase is gonna be awesome. We all know what Samaje brings to the table. We’re gonna find out what Tahj brings. I think he’s been a really good addition so far catching the ball out of the backfield. … Everything I’ve seen so far has been very optimistic.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
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