Cincy Jungle
Who should the Bengals pair with Chase Brown?
Chase Brown had a breakout season for the Bengals, but with Zack Moss entering the final year of his deal and coming off an injury-riddled season, they need to add another playmaker into the backfield.
Here are six potential fits in this year’s draft.
Comp: Baker Mayfield, if he were reincarnated as a wrecking ball (cue Miley Cyrus)
Cameron Skattebo tops this list, not because he is necessarily better than the others, but because his physical running style would be such an interesting change from Chase Brown.
Skattebo runs angry. He’s an absolute jerk running the ball, and I use the word jerk only because the word I want to use would never make it past my editor.
Just watch the clip below all the way through. Make sure to watch the close up at the end.
I am telling you. Skattebo was not falling down.
He made the decision to stiff-arm that defender into the ground.
He’s not just a short-yardage back though. He has speed, vision, and excellent contact balance. He is even a good receiving threat.
Skattebo broke out in 2024 with over 1,700 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns, plus 45 receptions for another 605 yards. The self-proclaimed best running back in the nation finished fifth in Heisman voting. If he didn’t have a chip on his shoulder after being under-recruited and winding up at Sacramento State, he certainly does now. I would recommend you get out of the way.
He and Chase Brown would complement each other excellently. They can do all the same things, but they have very different styles.
Comp: Rodney Anderson
The Bengals love productions, and D.J. Giddens has got it. He had over 3,000 yards from scrimmage over the past two seasons. They’ll also love that on 478 touches in those two years he only had one fumble.
He’s a high runner in the mold of Marcus Allen or Adrian Peterson. With his high knees pumping like pistons, he is hard to take down.
Giddens is always moving, but it’s not that he is dancing in the hole. His movement has purpose and creates lanes. He has good vision and can see cutbacks two or three gaps behind the play call, but he also has an innate ability to get skinny through whatever crease he can find.
He ran a 4.43 at the combine, and that’s evident on film, although he will get walked down over long distances. He has great burst and great jump cuts.
Comp: Duce Staley
Ollie Gordon II, or OG2 as he surely should be called, had over 2,000 yards from scrimmage in 2023, but that number was cut in half in 2024. So what happened?
Well, he had about 100 fewer carries despite playing only two fewer games. There also seems...
