Zack Moss

Fantasy Upside
Zach Moss came out of nowhere to take the fantasy world by storm in the first month-plus of last season. With Jonathan Taylor sidelined in Week 1, Deon Jackson, Jake Funk, and Evan Hull combined for 25 yards rushing on 16 attempts (1.56 YPC), opening the door for Moss to try his hand at splitting the backfield with QB Anthony Richardson. It went exceptionally well. He had 88 yards in his first week of action, and he wound up averaging 111.2 yards in his first four weeks of action. He parlayed his surprising first full year with the Colts into an offseason contract with the Bengals, where he could possibly be a 1v1 replacement for the Joe Mixon role, which has been very lucrative in fantasy.

Fantasy Downside
Not only could this be a split backfield with incumbent Chase Brown, but there have been rumors that Brown might actually have the majority role heading into his sophomore season. That basically encompasses all of the downside for Moss, as the Bengals' offense under head coach Zac Taylor has been very bell-cow-heavy, with options behind Mixon earning nothing but scraps.

2024 Bottom Line
With the loss of Mixon, the most likely outcome in Cincinnati is that they will employ a split backfield at a far higher rate than recent history would indicate. This gives Moss and Brown a decent floor in what projects to be a very good offense, but the ceiling is certainly threatened. With Brown earning far more special teams snaps than offensive ones in his rookie season, Moss should have the leg up here, regardless of murmurs to the contrary.

Week 14 at Cincinnati Bengals

Zack Moss was held to 51 yards on the ground against the Titans last week, but he had 19 carries and a pair of receptions, showing that he is definitely the workhorse back with Jonathan Taylor sidelined. Moss put up five touchdowns in seven games to kick off the season and he is averaging 4.5 yards per carry on the year. He’s shown he can be a legit RB1 when he gets a full workload.

This week, Moss faces a Cincinnati defense that ranks 22nd in aFPA to opposing running backs. With a nice matchup and a full workload expected for the tough runner, fantasy managers should consider him a must-start. We have him ranked in elite territory this week.

Week 10 vs. New England Patriots (Germany)

Zack Moss was down to just 21% of the team’s offensive snaps last week as Jonathan Taylor has continued to see his workload increase since returning from injury five games ago. Moss still had seven carries last week, but was held to just 26 yards in a victory over the Panthers.

This week, Moss faces a Patriots defense that ranks 15th in aFPA to opposing running backs. Moss should still rotate in to spell Taylor, making him a viable RB3 option, but with Taylor back to full health, we don’t expect Moss to be consistent enough to start in most formats. Hold him as a high-end handcuff, but be wary of putting him in fantasy lineups.