Chase Brown preparing for bigger role with Bengals in second season

The Cincinnati Bengals will look different at the running back position next season. Joe Mixon is now a member of the Houston Texans, and Cincinnati brought in Zack Moss to replace him. There will also likely be an increased workload for second-year back Chase Brown, who had just 44 attempts for 179 yards as a rookie.

Brown is ready for more carries, and he's looking to build on the momentum he established as a rookie during his second season. With his inaugural campaign behind him, Brown already feels more comfortable, and confident, in Cincinnati's offensive scheme.

“This is my second time around so the playbook’s not new, the coaches aren’t new, the guys in the locker room aren’t all new, so you kind of feel like you’re at home and that’s kind of how I feel right now,” Brown said at the onset of Cincinnati's offseason program, via the Dayton Daily News. “But what I want to do most is just build on last year — kind of turned it on more at the end of last season —and just help this team win games in any way possible and just be a complete player.”

Brown was active in the name of improvement over the offseason, and he named a few specific areas where he wanted to get better.

“I just want to become more fluid, work on my hands, work on my pass protection, just be a better all-around player coming back," Brown said. "I feel confident that I accomplished all that this offseason."

With Mixon now in Texas, Brown is well aware of the increased opportunity for him and the other runners in Cincinnati's backfield.

“There’s a huge opportunity for the guys in that room however that plays out,” Brown said.

Bengals plan to employ timeshare approach in backfield

Though his stats during his first professional season were far from gaudy, there are still reasons to be excited about what Brown showed as a rookie. He averaged 4.1 yards per carry, which is a respectable number, especially for a first-year player. Plus, he was showed an ability to be effective as a receiver.

Brown caught 14 passes (out of 15 targets) for 156 yards and a touchdown as a rookie. That's an average of over 11 yards per reception -- or a first down and change every time he caught the ball. That's a skill set that the Bengals should definitely tap into more in 2024.

While newcomer Moss is expected to be Cincinnati's starting running back, but the team plans to utilize a timeshare approach in the backfield, so that should leave plenty of work for Brown.

"It's definitely going to be collaborative," offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said Cincinnati's approach to the backfield. "You look across the league at that position anymore, and I think you're best off when you're sharing the workload with multiple people. Whether it's two, three, four people. Everybody kind of fills their role. We'll figure it out, but it comes back to what I've been saying all offseason. 'What's it going to take this week?'"

With his combination of experience and preparation combined with an increased workload, don't be surprised if Brown puts up some big numbers for the Bengals in 2024.