Fantasy football can sometimes go in a way where you’re drafting your second running back from a crop of players slightly out of that range. Cincinnati Bengals running back Zack Moss and Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb fit that bill perfectly. Chubb is currently RB29 in PPR leagues, whereas Moss is RB30.
There’s a lot of talent in those first few rounds, so sometimes drafters get sidetracked, take their RB1, and load up on a receiver. Before they know it, they’re trying to find a suitable RB2.
Both of these players have quite an interesting profile heading into 2024. Below, we’ll explore who you should take between them while examining a fantasy football strategy.
2024 Fantasy Outlook for Nick Chubb
Chubb enters the 2024 season after suffering a gruesome injury just two games into last year. The surgery he needed required repair to his MCL, ACL, and meniscus. This came about eight years after he tore his PCL, MCL, and LCL and dislocated his knee at Georgia. Both of these brutal injuries happened to his left knee.
According to TruMedia, Chubb had 28 carries for 170 yards before the setback, and 21 of those rushes came on first down. Averaging 6.1 yards per carry, he also caught four passes for 21 yards. Remember, the injury happened during Week 2, so his season was off to a great start.
In 2022, Cubb had 302 carries for 1,525 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging five yards per carry.
Chubb has always been excellent when he’s on the field. This production came after his terrible injury in college in 2015.
In July, the Browns placed Chubb on the PUP list and stated they wouldn’t rush him back.
Behind Chubb are Jerome Ford, Pierre Strong, and D’Onta Foreman. Ford was the primary back in Chubb’s absence last season, and he had 204 carries for 804 yards and four TDs. He also caught 44 passes for 319 yards and five more scores.
The Browns have a Week 10 bye week.
2024 Fantasy Outlook for Zack Moss
Moss spent the 2023 season with the Indianapolis Colts, filling in during Jonathan Taylor’s absence, but he also had a role after that.
He finished the season with 183 carries for 794 yards and five TDs, catching 27 passes for 192 yards and two TDs.
Despite the turnover at the position, he finished as RB29 in PPR leagues, which is right around where he’s going in drafts now.
In 2024, Moss will lead the Bengals backfield. The team said goodbye to Joe Mixon, and this depth chart now features Moss and Chase Brown.
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Brown was largely non-existent last season, but he did show some promise, including his Week 13 performance with nine carries for 61 yards on nine snaps and in Week 14, catching three passes for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Moss signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Bengals. Brown was a fifth-round pick in 2023.
There’s certainly some question marks here.
The Bengals have a Week 12 bye week.
Who Should I Draft in 2024?
This is a tough call, but I think there’s an argument for both players.
If you’re leaning toward Chubb, you absolutely must draft a second running back and view Chubb as a bench/flex player. If you draft Chubb as your RB2, there’s no telling how this will go. He could start the season on the PUP list or IR. Thus, you’ll be scrambling if you take him as your RB2.
As for Moss, you could also get away with him as your RB2. After returning from a forearm fracture, he was good to start last year. He missed Week 1, but from Week 2 to Week 6, he was RB3. This situation reads as if Moss will get chances if he proves he can do something with them. We could see Brown, the Bengals’ 2023 draft pick, get an extended role, making this a true committee.
As for Chubb, he’s a phenomenal player, but man, that poor knee of his.
Chubb is the better talent, but Moss seems like the better “floor” option.
I’d take a running back and let Chubb chill on the bench for the upside until he gets back. Moss’s ceiling is limited.
