Week 5 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Rachaad White vs. Chase Brown

With Bucky Irving battling foot and shoulder issues, Rachaad White looks to regain some lost momentum in the Buccaneers’ backfield. Tampa will undoubtedly rotate in Sean Tucker, creating a lower ceiling for White. The early struggles of the Bengals’ offense and Chase Brown have some fantasy managers looking to start a Tampa waiver wire running back over their former second-round expected fantasy star.

RB Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In 2024, White was the fourth-best running back (269.90 fantasy points) in PPR formats despite the Bucs gaining only 3.4 yards per rush for the year. The addition of Bucky Irving last year, along with a more rounded offense, led to Tampa developing into the top rushing team in 2024 (483/2,535/16 – 5.2 yards per carry). Their backs were active in both seasons in receiving stats, but they had a 30% increase last season.

2023 – 82/641/3
2024 – 108/894/7

After four games in 2025, the Buccaneers’ running backs have lost their rushing magic (99/371/1 – 3.7 YPR) while catching 27 of their 28 targets for 227 yards and two scores.

The Seahawks’ defense ranks last in the NFL against running backs in catches (30), receiving yards (272), and targets (35) while giving up one receiving touchdown. Seattle has yet to allow a rushing touchdown, with a high ranking vs. the run (88/288/0 – 3.3 YPC). Christian McCaffrey (142 combined yards with nine catches) had the best day, and Jaylen Warren also played well (134 combined yards with four catches).

RB Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals

Week 5 Fantasy Football Bust Candidate: Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals — Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown (30) warms up before the first quarter of the NFL Week 4 Monday Night Football game between the Denver Broncos and the Cincinnati Bengals at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Chase Brown has been on the field for 68.4% of the Bengals’ plays. His touches have declined in each game (23, 18, 14, and 13), which is tied to the number of plays run by Cincinnati each week (49, 65, 52, and 43). Over the past two contests, the Bengals scored one touchdown over their 23 possessions. Their offense has lost the time of possession each week (24:11, 26:49, 29:04, and 22:02), highlighted by their failure in yards per rush (2.6 – 76/200/2) and yards per pass attempt (5.8).

The most pressing need for the Bengals is improved play by their offensive line.

The Lions’ defense gave up a rushing touchdown in each game to a running back (78/304/3 – 3.9 yards per rush) while minimizing the damage in catches (15) and receiving yards (109). In 2024, Detroit had a top-10 defense against backs in the passing game (61/592/2) despite allowing a league-high 9.7 yards per catch.

The Verdict: Rachaad White vs. Chase Brown

Cincinnati should have a better chance of scoring on the ground in Week 5, and I have White as the underdog to score via a rush with Sean Tucker. The pass-catching floor and quarterback play are significant advantages for Tampa.

As much as I expect some of the Bengals’ players to have a correction game this week in a potentially higher-scoring matchup, I’ll ride White in this lineup decision. He tends to have a reasonable floor in catches, while reaching the end zone 18 times over 33 games in 2023 and 2024.

RB Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

RB Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals

The Verdict: Rachaad White vs. Chase Brown

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