Chase Brown is off to a brutal start to 2025. Sam Connon sorts through how fantasy owners should treat the Bengals star on the trade block.

Five weeks into the NFL season, it is officially time to start looking into fantasy football trades.

Whether you’re 0-5 and looking for a Hail Mary, or you’re 5-0 and trying to prey on the desperate teams, there is a large enough sample size to start some serious conversations about how to move forward. Injuries have left plenty of managers short-handed, as have disappointing starts from some notable stars.

Fantasy football trades are always tough to get across the finish line, so it could take a while for a deal to come together. Before Week 6 gets underway, it’s time to take stock of where certain players of note stand — like A.J. Brown, Drake London, Brian Thomas Jr., Ja’Marr Chase, Ladd McConkey, CeeDee Lamb and Alvin Kamara. DraftKings is here to break down who could be worth moving, with Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown up next.

Chase Brown Fantasy Value

After a quiet rookie season, Brown erupted down the stretch in his second NFL campaign. He finished 2024 with 990 rushing yards, 360 receiving yards, 229 carries, 65 targets, 54 receptions, seven rushing touchdowns and four receiving touchdowns. He wound up ranked as RB12, doing most of his damage in the second half. After averaging 11.0 PPR fantasy points per game through Week 8, Brown averaged 20.6 from Week 9 on. That late surge had Brown pegged as a fringe top-10 running back coming into 2025, right on the border of the second and third round.

Brown found paydirt in Week 1, saving what would have been an otherwise disappointing 51-yard performance. His touches dipped from 23 to 18 in Week 2, but he was able to creep up to 65 total yards. He got three carries inside the 10, so even while he didn’t score a touchdown, there was reason for hope.

Then, Joe Burrow went down, and Brown hit a wall. He rushed for just 3 yards in Week 3, followed by 40 yards in Week 4 and 27 yards in Week 5. While the Bengals facing large deficits has led to Brown getting 16 targets in his last three games, Samaje Perine has scooped up a solid share of the passing down snaps. Brown also has just two red-zone carries since Week 3, only one of which came inside the 10. He hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 1, either.

On the whole, Brown is averaging 9.9 PPR fantasy points per game this season, ranking as RB32. According to ESPN, meanwhile, he is RB15 with 14.2 expected fantasy points per game. Only Christian McCaffrey has underperformed more drastically so far in 2025, compared to expected production.

Should I trade Chase Brown?

The Bengals’ offense could have new life after trading for Joe Flacco on Tuesday. Flacco is no world-breaker, but he should be a floor-raiser in a fantasy sense. During his first four weeks with the Cleveland Browns, he targeted running backs on 21.3% of his pass attempts. Flacco also started six games with the Indianapolis Colts in 2024, leading the offense to 28.3 points per game compared to the 20.3 they averaged when Anthony Richardson started. In the four games Flacco played with Jonathan Taylor, the star running back averaged 18.9 PPR fantasy points per game.

So, between Flacco’s track record and some underlying numbers that are on Brown’s side, the latter may bounce back soon. That isn’t to say Brown should be untouchable, just that his production moving forward is probably more valuable than whatever you can get for him in a potential trade. Other fantasy owners may be scared off by Perine’s presence and Brown’s lack of red zone touches, making him even more difficult to sell. There is reason to believe those can turn around, but convincing other teams of that is probably a losing battle.

Brown should be stashed on your bench until he returns to form, if you have any level of depth at running back. That lineup decision could impact the optics of trading Brown, as well, presenting yet another road block to flipping him for a starting-caliber player.

What trade package could Chase Brown fetch?

If you are really looking to move off of Brown and don’t mind selling low, look to teams that are desperate for running backs. Whoever drafted Derrick Henry or Alvin Kamara probably isn’t looking for another underperforming bust, though, so the injury or bye-ravaged squads will probably be more compatible partners. Scope out the teams that lost James Conner, Austin Ekeler or Omarion Hampton – maybe even Chuba Hubbard or Bucky Irving – or have Nick Chubb or Jordan Mason on bye this week.

D’Andre Swift, Jacory Croskey-Merritt or Jordan Mason are running backs who have similar value to Brown. They may be hard to pry away from running back-needy teams, unless that team is 4-1 or 5-0 and in a position to take a risk. As for receivers, Jaylen Waddle and Deebo Samuel Sr. are probably out of reach in terms of a one-for-one swap. Trading Brown for Ladd McConkey would be a solid move if it’s on the table. Michael Pittman Jr., Chris Olave and Terry McLaurin are in the right ballpark, they just don’t spark a ton of excitement. Then you get down to Jakobi Meyers, DJ Moore, Jameson Williams and other players on that tier, none of whom are worth dealing away Brown and his upside.