The Cincinnati Bengals plan to replace Joe Mixon's production with a combination of veteran Zack Moss and second-year speedster Chase Brown in a thunder-and-lightening approach.
Mixon carried the workload most of the previous seven seasons, including taking 257 carries for 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns in 2023. Moss, who inked a two-year contract with the Bengals this offseason, saw the most reps in his four-year career last season in Indianapolis. He rushed 183 times for 794 yards and five touchdowns in eight starts when Jonathan Taylor was injured.
"I think it is big shoes to fill in that sense of things," Moss said of replacing Mixon in Cincy, . "But like I said, my job is not to worry about the past and things like that, it's to go out there and do my job at a high level, and whatever my job looks like, that's what I'm trying to do and be as consistent as I can be at that."
After two-and-a-half seasons playing behind Devin Singletary in Buffalo, Moss was traded to Indy in 2022, where he spelled Taylor when needed.
Moss expects to split duties in Cincinnati with Brown, who showed dynamic speed in spurts as a rookie. Brown profiles as the pass-catching option out of the backfield who can generate big plays.
"We're definitely two different types of backs," Moss said. "Like I said, he's crazy fast. But, you know, I think that will play a good role in the offense, keeps the defense on its feet, heels, whatever. And then, you get guys fresh all year long, things like that. So, like I said, I'm looking forward to continuing to build that chemistry."
Sharing carries isn't a negative in Moss' mind.
"I mean, most of my career, I've pretty much split time with somebody else regardless, and I think that's kind of where the league is really right now," Moss said. "You really only have maybe two or three guys that are predominantly just the backfield by themselves and taking all those carries and hits. I never really worry about or think about it. I mean, I'm looking forward to seeing a guy like Chase be able to do a lot of good things and continue to, you know, build himself throughout this league. And when it's my turn, I'll go out there and do the same things, and I think when you got two backs, it makes it a little easier. I mean, I was in Indy with J.T. (Taylor), so when he came back (from injury), I was excited, just because it made things so much easier and defenses wore down, or whatever, things like that. So like I said, I'm trying to take that experience, bring it here with these guys, and kind of just help from that standpoint."
The combination of Moss and Brown could bring more consistency and big-play potential to the Bengals' backfield than we saw the past couple of seasons from Mixon.
