Sam Monson said Ja'Marr Chase deserves to be drafted or bet as the NFL’s WR1 because his size-speed combo turns average plays into explosives. Monson highlighted Chase’s "superpower" of effortlessly shaking contact at every stage of the route – citing a 2023 clip against Washington where Chase looked blanketed for 10 yards before discarding Benjamin St-Juste and creating a yard-plus of separation for a deep gain. Monson added that Chase throttles down mid-route then accelerates past defenders, a pacing trick that pairs with his post-catch power to make him both a high-volume short target and a home-run deep threat. Those traits, in Monson’s view, give Chase the best composite profile for fantasy ceiling and floor among all wideouts this season.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound advocated pulling Tee Higgins up to the 2/3 turn (picks 22-26) because it sets up a uniquely affordable double-stack once Joe Burrow falls into the 70s. In current BBM6 rooms Burrow’s ADP sits around 71, so drafters from the 1- or 2-slot who grab Higgins early are very likely to land the entire Bengals passing stack without spending a premium pick on quarterback. Pat argued that the value of a healthy Burrow throwing indoors in Weeks 15-17 (vs PIT, at KC, at CLE) outweighs the slight ADP tax on Higgins. He added that the move is almost risk-free: if Burrow’s calf scares resurface or ADP drops, the Higgins reach becomes an even bigger edge compared to rooms that take him later and miss on the stack altogether.

Chris Raybon said he is flat-out passing on Cincinnati’s current flat-10 win total and plans to pounce once books inevitably hang a 9.5 after the Bengals stumble out of the gate. Raybon reminded listeners that Joe Burrow is an impossible-to-believe 1-9 straight-up in Weeks 1-2, a trend he expects to continue given the franchise’s habit of "sleep-walking" through September. He flagged multiple defensive red flags: the secondary remains the roster’s clear weak spot, and contract drama with Trey Hendrickson and D.J. Reader (whom Raybon said “Bengal fans worry might retire rather than play cheap”) has soured locker-room vibes. The road slate—at Buffalo, Green Bay, Denver, Minnesota, Miami, Baltimore and Pittsburgh—offers few soft spots, so Raybon doubts Cincinnati can claw back to 10-7 even if the offense remains explosive. His actionable plan: let the market drift to 9.5 after another slow start, then lay the juice on the under or sprinkle alt-unders and "most points allowed" props because the secondary projects as a weekly liability.

Evan Abrams leaned UNDER on Cincinnati’s flat 10-win line and suggested attacking early-season fades. He noted this is the franchise’s third consecutive year with a double-digit total—an unprecedented stretch for the Bengals—and they’ve missed the OVER the previous two. Defensive uncertainty looms with Trey Hendrickson and DJ Reader situations unresolved and both starting guards replaced, while Abrams sees the secondary as a glaring weakness. He flagged Joe Burrow’s bizarre 1-9 straight-up record across Weeks 1-2 as further evidence to short the team early, especially with four prime-time dates scattered through the year that could inflate public sentiment. With Arizona and Cleveland at home in Weeks 17-18, Abrams prefers betting Cincinnati to start slowly or grabbing in-season adjusted totals rather than trusting them to thread the needle to 11-6.

JSU advised passing on Joe Burrow at his current fourth-round Best Ball ADP, noting the Bengals star offers virtually no rushing equity—only 1.6 fantasy points per game on the ground last season—which caps his week-winning ceiling relative to cheaper dual-threat options available six to eight rounds later. JSU reminded listeners that seven of the top-10 fantasy quarterbacks in 2024 logged at least 300 rushing yards, while Burrow’s career high is 259. Because quarterback scoring in Best Ball is driven by spike-weeks, he prefers late options such as Bo Nix or Cam Ward who can add 40-yard rushing bonuses and red-zone scrambles. In JSU’s builds, paying a premium for a pocket passer like Burrow forces you to pass on high-upside receivers or bell-cow RBs in the same range, a trade-off he sees as sub-optimal in tournament structures.

JSU doubled down on his earlier Chase Brown enthusiasm after the Bengals re-signed veteran Samaje Perine. He called Perine "dust" at this stage of his career and said the move only guarantees some third-down snaps—nothing that threatens Brown’s early-down or goal-line touches. With Zack Moss also dismissed as "done," JSU sees Brown’s path to 17-plus touches per game unchanged. He reminded listeners that Cincinnati’s offense projects among the league leaders in red-zone trips with Joe Burrow healthy, keeping Brown’s touchdown ceiling firmly intact at his mid-round ADP.

JSU argued that Chase Brown has already "solidified himself as an RB1" for the Bengals and remains one of the best value picks in mid-rounds. Cincinnati returns every key skill player, and first-round rookie Amarius Mims shores up the lone weakness on the interior offensive line, giving Brown clearer lanes than he saw last season. JSU compared Brown’s all-purpose skill set to a more between-the-tackles version of Austin Ekeler, noting his 4.43 speed and 43-catch senior season at Illinois as evidence he can stay on the field in all situations. With Joe Burrow healthy and defenses forced to respect Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, JSU expects light boxes and 17-20 touches per game for Brown, calling him a live bet to crash the top-12 running-back ranks while still going outside the first three rounds of Best Ball drafts.

Josh Norris said Mike Gesicki is nothing more than a contingency flyer in Best Ball drafts. He reminded listeners that Zac Taylor has never featured the tight end when both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are healthy—Bengals TEs combined for just 13.9% target share in the 11 games the star duo played together last season. Gesicki is essentially a 6-foot-6 power slot who will only see real volume if either Higgins or Chase misses time. Until that happens Norris expects Gesicki to run wind-sprints outside of red-zone packages because Cincinnati’s three-wide sets funnel looks to Chase and the backs. Draft him strictly as an insurance policy for late-round construction, not as a usable weekly option.

Jason Moore advised passing on Joe Burrow at his current fourth-round price, arguing that the pure pocket passer profile does not justify the opportunity cost. Moore acknowledged Burrow’s elite career touchdown rate (5.9% since his rookie year and never below 34 TDs in a healthy season) but expects that number to regress toward league average, pointing out that even historically great quarterbacks see their 7%+ seasons inevitably fall back. With Burrow offering 200 or fewer rushing yards, Moore prefers to draft premium talent at other positions in Round 4 and wait for cheaper options. He flagged durability as an additional concern—Burrow has already lost parts of two seasons—and noted that Cincinnati’s offensive line allowed more sacks than Tampa’s last year. For Moore, the combination of regression risk, minimal rushing floor, and hefty draft capital makes Burrow a stay-away in season-long and best-ball formats unless his ADP slides into the sixth round or later.

Pat Kerrane said fantasy managers should stop fading Joe Mixon now that his 2025 Underdog ADP sits firmly in Round 5. Mixon finished 2024 as RB10 in half-PPR points-per-game and logged a 67 % snap share despite turning 28. Kerrane emphasized that Woody Marks profiles strictly as a third-down satellite back— 188 lbs and ranked outside the top-60 in yards after contact per attempt in college— so Marks is unlikely to threaten Mixon’s early-down or goal-line work. No other Bengals back saw more than eight carries in any game last year. If Mixon simply repeats last season’s 18.4 touches and 3.1 red-zone opportunities per game, he can “bury” WR-heavy builds that pass on him for fringe wideouts with similar projection. Kerrane’s takeaway: swallow your pride, click Mixon in the fifth, and let your early-round receivers plus a bankable RB1 ceiling do the talking in best-ball tournaments.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound said Jermaine Burton is worth scooping at the very end of Underdog’s fast-filling Sprint, Pug, and similar time-boxed drafts. Burton’s off-field concerns and uncertain practice participation are suppressing his ADP, but that uncertainty is precisely what creates leverage in contests that will be finished long before camp reports clear things up. Pat framed Burton as a “one-million-percent 18th-round guy” who can deliver a unique ceiling if his talent wins out once the Bengals hit training camp. Because only two of twelve advance in these rooms, Pat likes Burton’s spike-week profile as a cheap correlation-agnostic swing that most drafters skip.

Erickson liked scooping Chase Brown near the 3-4 turn, calling the sophomore back a strong best-ball bet for 2024. Cincinnati talked up Brown all spring, saying they envision him as their first- and second-down workload guy and made no significant draft-capital investment at the position. With the Bengals offense projected to score often and little backfield competition beyond passing-downs specialists, Erickson expects Brown to handle the bulk of carries and short-yardage work—ideal spike-week fuel.

Erickson argued that managers holding the first pick should not pass on Ja'Marr Chase because he may be entering an "Antonio Brown-style" multi-year run as the top fantasy wideout. Chase combines an elite yardage floor with heavy touchdown upside thanks to a league-best chemistry with Joe Burrow and a Bengals defense Erickson expects to remain "really bad," boosting shoot-out scripts. The market reflects this certainty—Chase carries a 1.1 average ADP and almost never falls—so Erickson urged drafters to take their exposure when they can.

Davis Mattek warned that an early-round Tee Higgins pick boxes you into an awkward Joe Burrow decision. Unless Burrow free-falls past his Round-5 ADP (a bet Mattek rarely sees), you either overpay for the stack or are left with an expensive, unstacked Higgins. He prefers receivers like Drake London who preserve multiple quarterback pairings and keep draft-room "optionality" intact.

Davis Mattek argued that drafters who open a Best Ball Mania room with Jamar Chase should bite the bullet and grab Joe Burrow at the 4-5 turn instead of trying to squeeze an extra round of ADP value by waiting until the 6-7 turn. Mattek said the room often will not gift you that discount, leaving you with an uncorrelated Burrow—or worse, a consolation quarterback like Mike Gesicki in Week 17. Because a Chase/Burrow stack unlocks one of the highest-ceiling Week 17 correlations on the board, Mattek believes the expected value of securing the combo outweighs any theoretical closing-line value from a modest ADP fall. "If you get to Week 17, you’re going to want Joe Burrow with Chase, not Joe Burrow with Mike Gesicki," he reminded listeners.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound advised intentionally drafting Tee Higgins a round ahead of ADP—around picks 17-18 instead of 19-21—to manipulate quarterback demand in sharp Puppy rooms. Because Higgins becomes the next best wideout after Ladd McConkey at that point in the queue, most drafters will pivot to another position. Pat has repeatedly seen that chain reaction shove Joe Burrow down four-to-six spots, creating a realistic chance to land the full Bengals double (Higgins + Burrow) at the 6-7 turn rather than paying sticker price. He views the closing-line value on an elite Week-17 Bengals stack as worth sacrificing a couple of expected points of ADP on Higgins.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound noted that Chase Brown’s current ADP around pick 30 is exactly where he should have been all along. Brown was already going near pick 40 in the Big Board, and drafters there were correctly baking in the risk that Cincinnati might add another back. With the Bengals passing on serious running-back competition in the NFL Draft, Pat feels earlier exposure is now validated—drafters assumed significant upside without having to pay today’s higher cost. He views Brown as appropriately priced and a fine selection in the late-third/early-fourth round of BBM6.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound warned viewers not to overreact to the first wave of coach speak praising Bengals rookie Jermaine Burton for ‘staying after practice.’ He reminded drafters that similar puff pieces pushed Burton into the 160s of last year’s big-board before Andrei Iosivas leap-frogged him once Cincinnati recognized Burton’s character concerns. The result was essentially a season-long zero for anyone who chased the hype. Pat expects history to repeat—predicting Iosivas will again settle ahead of Burton in summer ADP—and he will only click Burton in the 18th round as a pure talent swing. Anything earlier, he says, is dead money that can be allocated to safer late darts.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound called Mike Gesicki one of his favorite final-round darts, noting that the Bengals’ wide-receiver-centric offense leaves a clear runway for a hyper-athletic tight end to steal red-zone looks. Gesicki’s 90th-percentile burst and documented 14-yard average depth of target make him exactly the kind of boom-or-bust profile that can post 20 points on three catches, which is ideal for Best Ball playoff weeks. Pat added that stacking Gesicki with Joe Burrow or late-round Bengals bring-backs offers cheap exposure to the projected Bengals-Cardinals Week 17 shoot-out. In his view, Gesicki’s combination of pedigree, athleticism, and attached quarterback makes him a superior flier to replacement-level receivers in the same price range.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound cautioned drafters against clicking rookie wide-out Jermaine Burton right now. While Burton’s vertical skill set gives him a higher ceiling than Andrei Iosivas, Pat reminded listeners that the former Alabama star bounced between three schools, has a documented off-field incident, and already drew ‘character concern’ comments from Bengals coaches. Until Burton stacks multiple weeks of positive camp reports, Pat fears he could be a flat zero that clogs the back of your roster. His plan is to monitor beat writers (and even Burton’s Instagram) and only begin adding shares once the narrative flips and the market moves him ahead of Iosivas. Waiting, in Pat’s view, captures the same upside at a cheaper ADP and avoids burning a final-round pick on a player who might not dress on game days.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound said drafters should flat-out pass on Joe Burrow in Underdog’s three-week Sprint/Playoff contest unless they already roster one of the Bengals’ top three wideouts. He argued that advancing through Weeks 15-17 requires correlated ceiling every single week, and Burrow’s path to 30-point spike games is almost entirely tied to Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, or Jermaine Burton being healthy. If even one of those receivers is sidelined—something that has happened each of the last two seasons—Burrow’s upside craters. Pat called the idea of relying on Andrei Iosivas or Charlie Jones “pure fiction” and noted that an unstacked Burrow has to outscore fully-correlated QB/WR pairs across three separate slates. Even at a one-round ADP discount, he advised reallocating the pick to a quarterback you can properly stack inside the same draft room.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound advised scooping up Joe Burrow whenever he slides roughly 12 picks past ADP, even if you do not already have Bengals pass-catchers. Referencing high-volume drafter FF Links’ stellar advance rates, Pat argued that the raw value of an elite quarterback at a one-round discount outweighs Week-17 correlation concerns. In his view, locking in the discounted production from a proven top-five scorer materially boosts regular-season advance rate equity in Best Ball Mania drafts.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound reiterated that he wants zero Chase Brown even after the draft. Brown’s price only crept up about one round—from the 27-28 turn in the Big Board to the same range in Eliminator—so drafters who loaded him earlier took all the risk with no real ADP reward. Pat pointed out that Cincinnati still kicked the tires on three of the top five rookie running backs during pre-draft visits, which tells him the coaching staff is not completely sold on Brown as a workhorse. With Zach Moss waiting in the wings and Joe Burrow unlikely to hand over red-zone carries, Pat believes Brown offers limited ceiling and a scary floor in a format where one dud week can end your tournament life.

Asked whether he would trade Ja'Marr Chase for rookie backs Ashton Jeanty and Omarion Hampton, Jason Moore gave an emphatic no. He noted that Chase’s weekly ceiling—nearly 27 PPR points in career games with Joe Burrow—creates a roster-spot efficiency that two good but unproven running backs cannot match. Even in a lineup loaded with CeeDee Lamb and Garrett Wilson, Chase still provides irreplaceable leverage because his boom weeks are often decisive in head-to-head matchups. Moore also pointed out that Jeanty and Hampton would occupy two starting slots, reducing flexibility, and neither has proven NFL production or guaranteed second-contract security. Unless a team is absolutely barren at running back AND thin at receiver once Chase is removed, Moore believes you are downgrading both ceiling and floor by making the move.

Pete Overzet advised pushing Joe Burrow past the four-five turn whenever possible, saying his projection team has Burrow a full round behind current Best Ball Mania ADP. The issue is ceiling: Burrow averaged just 14.4 rushing yards per game over the last two healthy seasons and ranks outside the top-15 quarterbacks in designed-run rate, capping weekly upside relative to rushing QBs going in the same range. Overzet’s plan is to let Chase or Higgins drafters overpay; he will only click Burrow when rooms let him slide into the mid-60s or later. If you believe Burrow’s ADP is truly efficient, Overzet conceded you might lock in the stack half the time, but because his model values rushing quarterbacks more heavily, he personally will push the exposure "close to 100 percent" of the time and allocate those draft-capital savings to skill players.

Erik Beimfohr called Mike Gesicki his late-round tight-end cheat code, stressing that labeling him a ‘tight end’ is a technicality—Gesicki is really a big slot who never blocks. Joe Burrow personally lobbied the Bengals to bring him back, and with Tyler Boyd gone Cincinnati desperately needs an interior target behind Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Rookie TE Erick All twice tore the same ACL and Tanner McLachlan is a blocking prospect, leaving Gesicki almost unchallenged for passing-down snaps. Two years ago he commanded a 14 % target share in Miami on similar slot usage, and Beimfohr expects 60-plus looks in a Bengals offense that ranked fifth in red-zone pass rate. Those high-value end-zone targets combined with Burrow’s accuracy give Gesicki a clear path to top-12 fantasy production at a round-15/16 cost—roughly the same price as waiver fodder like Durham Smythe. Beimfohr is happily banking on Gesicki whenever he punts the early-round tight-end tier.

Tyler Sullivan advised the Lions to push their chips in and trade for Trey Hendrickson, noting the Bengals edge led the NFL in sacks last season and remains without a long-term deal. Detroit’s current No. 2 rusher, Marcus Davenport, missed all of 2023, leaving Aidan Hutchinson to handle 33% of the team’s pressures alone. Sullivan framed Hendrickson-Hutchinson as a top-three edge tandem that would erase Detroit’s lone roster weakness and materially improve their Super Bowl odds (currently +1200). Bettors looking at NFC futures should anticipate a move that could push the Lions’ pressure rate from 21% (18th) into the league’s top tier.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound argued that rosters need at least one Cincinnati Bengal—whether it’s Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Joe Burrow or Chase Brown—to win the Sprint. Even without seeing the full NFL schedule yet, he expects the league to slot the Bengals into a high-scoring Week 15-17 run, pointing to their repeated involvement in shootouts against Kansas City and Buffalo the last two seasons. Because Sprint crowns its champion by summing Weeks 15-17 rather than single-week pods, Pat prioritizes explosive team stacks and believes Cincinnati’s pass-heavy profile makes them a near-mandatory portfolio anchor.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound warned that Joe Burrow’s current Sprint cost—often around pick 47—is tough to justify when his 2023 fantasy total matched Baker Mayfield’s 381 points. Pat emphasized that drafters are paying a three-round premium for Burrow’s brand name even though his weekly ceiling was nearly identical to Mayfield’s last season. With Burrow still recovering full mobility after wrist surgery and the Bengals trending toward a more balanced attack, Pat is fading him at the 4/5 turn and reallocating that capital toward wide receivers or cheaper upside quarterbacks.

Pete Overzet said fantasy drafters should keep hammering Chase Brown at his current mid-third-round price because he believes that window will slam shut once projection models hit the market. Brown has already inched up every time Pete streams a draft and he expects the Bengals’ new feature back to settle near the 2-3 turn by the heart of the summer, jumping players such as DJ Moore and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Overzet argued the rookie-contract runner will project as a top-10 back in both season-long ranks and DFS ("think $7,500 on DraftKings") thanks to a three-down workload in a Joe Burrow offense that routinely finishes top-10 in points per drive. Locking Brown in now creates early CLV and a potential structural edge versus drafters who wait until the market corrects.

Emory Hunt endorsed Joe Burrow at +600 for MVP, calling 2024 the "it’s his turn" season. He expects the rebuilt offensive line to hold up, a healthier Burrow to start all 17 games, and the staff to lean on Chase Brown’s emerging run game to keep defenses honest. With elite perimeter weapons and an offense that rediscovered balance late last year, Hunt believes voters will reward Burrow’s gaudy passing totals and team success despite the short number.

Pat Kerrane said he is actively adding Chase Brown exposure despite the back’s rising third-round ADP. Brown posted +67 rush yards over expected as a part-time player last year and now steps into Joe Burrow’s offense with minimal competition—Zach Moss and Samaje Perine are projected to siphon only specialty snaps. Kerrane likes the profile: third-year back, elite scoring environment, and almost no target competition outside Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. He conceded Brown can hurt roster flexibility because selecting him early limits WR depth in the top five rounds, yet believes the ceiling—bell-cow usage tied to a top-five offense—outweighs that structural tax. Brown is currently ranked ahead of the veteran RB cluster (Henry, Kamara, Jacobs) in Kerrane’s personal board.

Erik Beimfohr warned that Chase Brown’s ballooning ADP—he expects the market to settle around the Round-2/3 turn—ignores several red flags. Brown was only a fifth-round pick and his 2024 breakout came when the Bengals were down to a single healthy running back. Cincinnati quietly restructured Zach Moss’s deal and brought back Samaje Perine, a coaching-staff favorite who has siphoned third-down and two-minute work everywhere he has landed. Beimfohr argued that if Perine reprises that pass-pro role, Brown could lose 40-plus targets and most of the high-value hurry-up snaps fantasy managers are baking in. He compared Brown’s profile to the 2020 Kenyon Drake trap: a solid but unspectacular talent thrust up the board because of vacancy rather than proven elite playmaking. With Chuba Hubbard and Joe Mixon available two rounds later, Beimfohr believes Brown is the riskiest of the so-called ‘projectable-volume’ backs and is comfortable fading him at cost in Best Ball tournaments.

Tyler Knaeble said now is the time to scoop Chase Brown in early-summer best-ball drafts because he expects the Bengals back’s ADP to rise to the Alvin Kamara / D’Andre Swift / Jaylen Wright tier once training-camp buzz hits. His reasoning: every report out of Cincinnati has been favorable, the club declined to sign any established veteran runners, and the remaining free-agent market is bare, leaving Brown a clear path to the No. 2—or even lead—role. Knaeble views Brown as one of the few mid-to-late-round picks with real closing-line value and league-winning upside if the depth chart breaks his way.

Erik Beimfohr called sixth-round pick Tahj Brooks his favorite true "mega flyer" of 2025 drafts. Brooks logged three straight 1,000-yard seasons at Texas Tech while handling pass-pro, route work and short-yardage duties—exactly the three boxes Cincinnati still needs behind Zack Moss and Chase Brown. Beimfohr reminded listeners that Brown was only a fifth-rounder last year and still flashed RB2 weeks once Joe Mixon left, proving how fantasy-friendly the Bengals’ workhorse role can be. Brooks’ 4.55 forty and above-average 8.85 RAS squashed pre-combine speed concerns, and his 75 missed tackles forced in 2024 ranked top-10 in the country. With only 2022 tape Samaje Perine penciled in as the third-down guy, Brooks could vault to the top of the depth chart if Brown struggles or Moss’s durability issues resurface. Beimfohr recommends scooping Brooks in the final round of every Best Ball draft as pure contingent-value leverage on an elite offense.

Nez Badge Bros said he cannot pass on Chase Brown at current ADP, even if it means skipping Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen, or Lamar Jackson. Brown emerged from the draft with no added competition and is now the clear 1B—if not outright successor—to Joe Mixon after flashing 4.43 speed and 2.96 yards after contact last December. Nez argued that Eliminator’s weekly one-on-one format values bankable RB touches more than quarterback ceiling, and the opportunity cost of taking a onesie early is brutal. In his words, "taking Hurts over Chase Brown would be very hard for me," because Brown’s combination of workload floor and post-draft momentum can carry lineups through the high-attrition early rounds.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound blasted the room for allowing Tee Higgins to fall, arguing that the Bengals possess “the best passing offense in the NFL, and it’s not close.” Pat reminded listeners Higgins was the WR2 on a points-per-game basis in his healthy weeks last season and personally won Pat $20K with an 11-131-1 nuclear Week-17 performance. He emphasized that when Higgins is active he can outscore even Ja’Marr Chase, making any discount beyond the late-third round absurd. Pat’s takeaway: hammer Higgins whenever the market gifts you a slide and enjoy the free equity when casual drafters push him back up.

Eric Luttrell called Chase Brown his "horse" for the mid-double-digit rounds after Cincinnati passed on every big-name rookie back. He admitted fading Brown in early spring when mock drafts had the Bengals linked to multiple Day-2 runners, but now views the sophomore as a massive winner. Brown posted 4.9 yards per touch and a 14% target share in limited rookie action, and Eric expects Lou Anarumo’s improved defense to create more positive game scripts—and thus more neutral-to-run plays—for the backfield. With hand-wringers focused on Zack Moss, Eric sees Brown’s ADP rebounding quickly once beat writers confirm he is opening camp atop the depth chart.

Davis Mattek said he would be "stunned" if Cincinnati spends a Day-2 pick on a running back, arguing the Bengals have too many other roster holes to burn premium capital at the position. Because of that, Mattek views Chase Brown’s hold on the lead-back job as far safer than the market assumes and is comfortable drafting him ahead of late-Round-6 cost until the draft closes the uncertainty loop. He reminded listeners that Brown already leap-frogged veterans down the stretch last season and that Cincinnati’s wide-open depth chart offers a legitimate 225-touch path if the team merely adds a Day-3 depth body. Mattek’s plan is to pound Brown shares now, noting the ADP could jump multiple rounds if Friday night ends without the Bengals selecting a back.

Davis Mattek said drafters who faded Chase Brown during the pre-draft process "got punished" because Cincinnati declined to add meaningful back-field competition. Mattek argued Brown belongs at the 2–3 turn alongside Devon Achane-type profiles. His case: 1) Zack Moss is a low-ceiling placeholder with poor yards-per-carry and success-rate numbers, giving Brown a clear runway to 65-plus percent of the touches. 2) Joe Burrow historically funnels targets to his backs when pressured (23 percent check-down rate in 2023), and Brown already flashed pass-game chops with 14 receptions on only 143 snaps last year. 3) The Bengals project for a top-10 scoring offense; if they find themselves in a must-win stretch, "he’s going to be on the field" for every high-leverage snap because the coaching staff trusts him in protection. Mattek compared the ceiling outcome to Achane’s 2023 stretch—explosive chunk plays plus goal-line work—but at a multi-round discount the market has not corrected.

Erik Beimfohr spotlighted Mike Gesicki as his favorite late-round tight end when punting the position. Gesicki joins a Bengals offense that already throws on 60% of neutral-situation snaps and just lost Tyler Boyd and Irv Smith, leaving 125 vacated targets over the middle. Gesicki posted a 17% target share and finished TE7 in 2021, still ranking top-10 among active tight ends in down-field targets. At 6’6” with 4.54 speed, he gives Joe Burrow a seam-stretching, red-zone weapon Cincinnati has lacked since C.J. Uzomah. With an ADP outside the top 180, drafters are paying for a TE3 but getting legitimate double-digit-target upside in projected shoot-outs. Beimfohr is comfortable reaching a round early on Gesicki in three-tight-end builds, viewing him as low-risk, league-winning leverage if his route rate spikes.

Sullivan graded Cincinnati a straight C because, while ownership paid up to keep Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase with Joe Burrow, the roster looks identical to the 2024 unit that missed the playoffs. The defense—the real culprit last season—received only a high-variance rookie edge rusher in Shemar Stewart, whose college resume shows 4.5 sacks total. Meanwhile, star DE Trey Hendrickson’s future remains unresolved. With no clear talent influx on defense, Sullivan expects the Bengals to be the same shoot-out-prone team and urged bettors to approach AFC or divisional futures skeptically and continue targeting game totals toward the over until proven otherwise.

Jason Moore called Chase Brown a "big-time fantasy winner" after Cincinnati ignored premium skill talent in the draft, waiting until Round 6 to select change-of-pace back Tars Brooks and taking zero wide receivers. Brown already flashed juice when he averaged 5.1 yards per carry and 2.9 yards after contact over the final five games of 2024, and Moore believes the front office’s inaction cements him as the unquestioned starter. The Bengals retained Zack Moss strictly as depth, giving Brown a realistic path to 60 percent of snaps and the lion’s share of inside-the-five carries in an offense that ranked seventh in red-zone trips. Moore emphasized organizational stability—same HC, OC and offensive line—as another reason to bank on Brown for 250 touches. He projected a mid-RB2 finish and advised snatching Brown in the sixth round of early best-ball/redraft drafts before preseason hype spikes the ADP.

Steve Palazzolo cautioned fantasy managers and bettors not to assume Shemar Stewart will blossom into a high-end pass rusher. Palazzolo emphasized that despite elite traits, Stewart never topped two sacks in a season and his pressure rate remains below recent first-round benchmarks like Rashan Gary, Tyree Wilson, and Travon Walker. He also flagged poor change-of-direction skills and an alarming tendency to whiff tackles, warning that those flaws could cap Stewart’s early snap counts and stunt his sack totals. Until the rookie proves he can convert athleticism into consistent production, Palazzolo advised fading Bengals D/ST futures and avoiding Stewart in IDP drafts outside deep stash territory.

Sam Monson said Shemar Stewart’s eye-popping power should translate right away for Cincinnati’s defensive front. Monson highlighted Stewart’s 34-inch arms, 84-inch wingspan, 4.59 forty, 1.58 ten-yard split, and 40-inch vertical as rare measurables that fuel an "absolutely devastating" bull rush. He believes that sheer linear explosiveness will let the rookie forklift NFL tackles into the quarterback even if Stewart never develops a secondary move. Monson expects immediate disruption versus both run and pass, projecting Stewart as an IDP sack/pressure streamer and a reason to upgrade the Bengals D/ST ceiling in season-long formats.

Davis Mattek insisted Chase Brown’s backfield path looks clearer than the market thinks because Cincinnati is highly unlikely to spend Day-2 draft capital on another running back. Mattek argued the Bengals have too many roster holes—he called the depth chart "so bad" at multiple positions—to invest a premium pick at RB after allowing Joe Mixon to walk. He said he would be "stunned" if the front office added meaningful competition on Friday and invited listeners to "come back and roast me" if it happens. Assuming the team keeps its picks for offensive line and defense, Brown’s only competition would be Trayveon Williams and late-round or UDFA types, setting the stage for a 60-65% snap share and low-end RB2 floor at his current double-digit ADP in Best Ball drafts. Mattek plans to stay overweight on Brown until the draft concludes, then expects his cost to rise a full round once drafters realize Cincinnati passed on the RB class.

Ryan Wilson applauded Cincinnati grabbing Alabama tackle Tyler Booker at No. 17 after Jonathan Jones bumped him up the board. Booker’s sluggish 5.34 forty and sub‑par shuttle dinged his combine stock, but Wilson stressed that his game tape shows a mauler who allowed just one sack on 412 pass‑pro reps. Pairing last year’s first‑rounder Amarius Mims at right tackle with Booker on the left would give Joe Burrow two 6‑foot‑6, 330‑plus bookends and end the musical‑chairs approach that led to 84 QB hits the past two seasons. Wilson acknowledged edge rusher is a need with Trey Hendrickson on the trade block, yet called offensive line “far thinner than edge” in this class. He advised bettors to smash Booker Under 22.5 draft slot (+110) before the market catches up to late steam.

Pat Mayo settled on Shemar Stewart for Cincinnati at 17, arguing the Bengals can no longer ignore defensive‑line depth after ranking 28th in pressure rate once Trey Hendrickson left the field last year. Stewart’s 6‑6, 285‑pound frame gives Lou Anarumo both a base‑end and reduced‑front interior rusher; the Texas A&M product generated 38 pressures on just 305 pass‑rush snaps and posted a 9.23 RAS despite his size. Mayo pointed out that several books still price Stewart firmly in the 20‑to‑25 range yet list him as low as +250 to be the Bengals’ first selection—evidence the market has not reconciled those two numbers. He recommended betting Stewart’s draft‑slot Under and sprinkling on CIN‑Stewart exact‑match props while the mismatch exists.

Connor Allen advised fading the –150 consensus price on Ashton Gentie to the Raiders at No. 6 and instead sprinkling Amarius Mims at 10‑to‑1. While Gentie is the popular mock‑draft choice, Allen noted that new personnel chief John Spytek has historically broken ties toward premium positions—something Spytek reiterated in a quote tweeted by Albert Breer during the show. Las Vegas already has Maxx Crosby, Tyree Wilson, Malcolm Koonce and a solid front seven but a glaring hole on the right side of its offensive line. Mims can start immediately at right tackle or slide to guard, matching Pete Carroll’s trenches‑first M.O. Allen also argued the running‑back class is deep enough for the Raiders to address the position on Day 2, making a Round‑1 back a poor allocation of resources. Given the organizational philosophy and roster construction, he believes Mims at double‑digit odds is the clear value pivot if Gentie is merely market chalk.

Jason Moore called Tee Higgins the perfect blend of floor and ceiling after ranking him inside the top‑15 wide receivers. Moore highlighted that Higgins averages a touchdown every 7.7 receptions—fifth‑best among active players—and just posted a career‑high 15.5 PPR points per game, fourth at the position, despite missing five contests. He emphasized the symbiotic relationship with Joe Burrow, noting both receivers thrive when on the field together: in their 10 shared starts last year, Burrow averaged 2.8 passing TDs and 306 yards. While acknowledging Higgins’ tendency to miss a couple of games, Moore argued the Bengals’ pass‑heavy scheme and Chase‑driven defensive attention lock in double‑digit touchdown upside. He advised scooping Higgins wherever he slips into the late‑second or early‑third round, viewing him as a weekly WR1/2 starter in redraft and a priority best‑ball target.

Jason Moore said Ja'Marr Chase belongs in a tier of his own at the top of 2025 drafts. Chase averaged 20 fantasy points per game last season, a 4.4‑point gap over Justin Jefferson—the widest WR1/WR2 separation in seven years. Moore highlighted Chase’s 17 targets inside the 10‑yard line (most in the league) and explained that Cincinnati’s personnel guarantees similar usage: the Bengals lack a hammer back at the goal line (Chase Brown is undersized), Lou Anarumo’s defense projects as porous again, and every big dollar on offense is tied up in Joe Burrow, Chase and a freshly‑extended Tee Higgins. With Burrow viewed as “the perfect non‑mobile, high‑TD quarterback” for fantasy WR production, Moore expects a pass‑heavy script that keeps Chase’s ceiling intact and makes him the clear overall WR1 in redraft, best ball and DFS builds.