Zack Moss Released by Bengals, How Move Impacts Chase Brown's Fantasy Football Stock

Chase Brown's fantasy stock is going up after the Cincinnati Bengals released Zack Moss.

The Bengals announced on Wednesday that they released Moss, who was limited to eight games last season before suffering a broken vertebra in his neck.

Brown, who was already slotted in as the starting running back, had a breakout 2024 with 1,350 yards from scrimmage and 11 total touchdowns in 16 games.

Moss recently told Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic he wasn't sure what his future in the NFL was going to be, but his "intention" was to be with the Bengals for as long as they wanted him:

"Like I told coach Taylor, if I wanted to be done, I could have stayed at home and not left my wife and two kids by herself. I could have made that call and called it a day. My intention is to be here, to do what I have to do rehab-wise and then go from there. Wherever it is at, make a decision from there. That’s all I can do."

Moss began last season as Cincinnati's lead back before Brown took over in Week 6. The Illinois alum turned out to be one of the best fantasy backs after being elevated.

Brown was the No. 7 running back in PPR leagues over an 11-game period from Weeks 6-17. He had a streak of six consecutive games with at least 19 PPR points.

Some of Brown's value is likely to be impacted by the addition of Samaje Perine. The eight-year veteran won't bring much as a runner, but he has been an excellent pass-catcher out of the backfield with 143 catches since the start of 2021.

Perine's 1,260 receiving yards over the past four seasons rank ninth among all running backs. Rookie Tahj Brooks caught 84 passes over his final three seasons at Texas Tech

Even with Perine and Brooks potentially eating into some of Brown's targets, he is still going to get a heavy workload to be worth drafting in the top three rounds.

Brown's current ADP is No. 27 in PPR leagues, per FantasyPros. He is coming off the board right behind Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride and in front of Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

When you consider how many shootouts the Bengals are likely to be in given the state of their defense, Brown could end up being a great bargain at that spot in the draft.