The Cincinnati Bengals have dubious depth at the running back position behind Chase Brown, which means the opportunity is ripe for someone to break out at that spot in 2026.
Brown is in a contract year, so it'd benefit the Bengals to find a dependable second option to take some of the workload off him and keep him fresh. Samaje Perine is fine, but he's approaching 31 years old.
Perhaps the only other player anyone's ever heard of is last year's sixth-round pick, Tahj Brooks, who was mouse-quiet as a rookie. Could that change this year?
Bengals RB Tahj Brooks gassed up as breakout player in 2026 by ex-PFF podcasters
On their Check the Mic podcast, Steve Palazzolo and Sam Monson, formerly of PFF, gave their takes on a breakout player for every single NFL team. Monson named Brooks for the Bengals, and the two briefly touched on why that could be:
SP: "I mean, I could definitely see a nice complimentary back. Brooks could be the complimentary back to Chase Brown."
SM: "Yeah, I also like I thought he would be more productive as a rookie. Like I think there's something there in Taj Brooks. I think he's a potentially solid player."
Brooks was ultra-productive in his final two seasons at Texas Tech, rushing for over 3,000 yards and 27 TDs while also nabbing 84 receptions in a three-year span.
In fact, Brooks has conferred with Brown about how he should go about improving in Year 2, and in an offense orchestrated by Joe Burrow, it obviously makes sense to focus on pass-catching:
"I kind of took Chase's (Brown) advice. 'Work on receiver stuff.'"
— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) May 23, 2026
Entering his second year in the NFL, Tahj Brooks is still expanding his game.
Here's our conversation on why the Bengals running back worked on his receiving game this offseason. pic.twitter.com/gkp771Tokr
Wouldn't it be something if Brooks emerged as a legit third-down back option Cincinnati could turn to? After all, Perine hits free agency next offseason, and if Brown is indeed the feature back going forward, Brooks is in prime position to be his long-term backup/No. 2 option with upside.
Any other weapons at Burrow's disposal would be a luxury at this point. It'd negate the need to trade for, say, Alvin Kamara or another proven, more dynamic veteran.
Contributions from Brooks in any capacity would be a welcome change of pace from the Bengals' 2025 draft class, which looks like a disaster through one year. The selection of Brooks, even at 193rd overall, looked like a waste when he had only 45 yards on 16 carries last season (2.8 average).
Is there anywhere else for Brooks to go but upward? Not really. The competition for the RB2 gig isn't exactly flush with household names. There's Perine, Gary Brightwell, Kendall Milton...a couple undrafted rookies.
Like if Brooks can do anything of substance in the NFL, we're about to find out real quick. He's a thicker north-south runner who doesn't have much in the way of long speed, but Brooks has a decisiveness to his game and packs plenty of power as a ball-carrier.
The rest of the offseason program is a great stage for Brooks to show he can be depended upon this year. He's certainly an underrated name to watch.
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