Should I Draft Ezekiel Elliott or Chase Brown in Fantasy Football This Year?

Fantasy football managers deciding between running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Chase Brown must choose an aging veteran over a youngster trying to become a regular in the offensive lineup. Here is the fantasy outlook for each player heading into the 2024 season.

2024 Fantasy Outlook for Ezekiel Elliott

Elliott comes in as the RB33 in Pro Football Network’s consensus fantasy football rankings as of Aug. 31. His career, however, continues its downward trend.

Serving in a backup capacity last season with the New England Patriots, Elliott had both his lowest rushing output (642 yards) and yards-per-carry average (3.5) of his career. From a fantasy standpoint, Elliott also had career lows for per-game scoring (10.3 fantasy points per game) and total fantasy points (174.5).

Last season was also the fifth straight season Elliott’s fantasy ppg average has declined from the previous season. Back in 2018, Elliott averaged 21.9 fantasy points per game, good for sixth-highest among running backs. In 2023, Elliott ranked 37th in scoring among RBs.

Now Elliott reunites with the Dallas Cowboys, but should fantasy managers expect anything to change in his career?

2024 Fantasy Outlook for Chase Brown

Although last year’s leading rusher for the Cincinnati Bengals, Joe Mixon, has moved on to the Houston Texans, the Bengals brought in Zack Moss from the Indianapolis Colts to be their presumed starter.

So, where does this leave Brown, the RB36 on PFN’s consensus rankings?

As a rookie last season, it was difficult for Brown to get on the field much. He was either inactive or simply didn’t play in five of Cincinnati’s first 10 games. Brown’s first real action on the field didn’t occur until Week 13, which was the first weekend of December.

Over his final six games, he averaged 8.2 fantasy points per game. While that isn’t a high average on the surface, it came in limited time on the field. Brown was only on the field for 85 total offensive plays over the Bengals’ final six games.

Brown’s yards per touch over those final six games was a respectable 6.1. He scored just one touchdown last season, yet it came on a 54-yard pass from backup quarterback Jake Browning in Week 14.

Who Should I Draft in 2024?

While Elliott is the starter on his team and Brown is the backup on his, this doesn’t necessarily mean the former is the better choice among the two for fantasy managers.

The Cowboys’ signing of Dalvin Cook following the preseason says a lot about what they think of their RB situation. On the other hand, while Brown may not become Cincinnati’s starter, he should expect an increase in time from a season ago.

Neither Elliott nor Brown should be running backs fantasy managers even think about until the later rounds of their respective drafts. However, of these two, I’d prefer the potential of Brown over the declining Elliott.