The Cincinnati Bengals will face the Baltimore Ravens in Week 10. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Bengals skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 10 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Joe Burrow, QB
Joe Burrow is pacing for 4,239 passing yards and a career-high 38 passing touchdowns, numbers that might shock the public given the Bengals’ losing record, but fantasy managers are well aware of his ability to put up points in a hurry.
We should see more of the same this week against one of the league’s most vulnerable defenses that allows a league-high 78.8% of opponent yardage to come via the pass. Burrow has six QB1 finishes this season including a pair of top-three finishes, one of which came in Week 5 against these Ravens:
- 39 attempts
- 30 completions
- 392 yards
- 5 touchdowns
You’re more than welcome to question if Cincinnati is live to pull off this upset, but there is no doubt that their quarterback is in a position to succeed. If not for the potential of the Ravens dominating the time of possession in this game, Burrow would grade as a Tier 1 option. As it is, he tops my second tier and that means QB5 for the week.
Chase Brown, RB
The Bengals went out of their way to bolster their backfield at the trade deadline by way of Khalil Herbert, a move that could be read one of two ways.
- They aren’t sold on Chase Brown as a bellcow
- It’s depth now that Zack Moss is on the IR
Realistically, it’s probably a combination of both, though Brown did show well for himself last week in producing his third RB1 finish of the season (32 touches for 157 yards and a TD against the Raiders). That said, the momentum is working away from Brown, and we know that Herbert offers a dose of upside (career: 4.8 yards per carry).
- Weeks 1-6: 25.2% over expectation
- Weeks 7-9: 13% below expectation
I’m pessimistic here. The Bengals have a pair of tough matchups coming (Ravens and Chargers) before they go on bye in Week 12. If Brown struggles to be efficient in those difficult spots, is this a full-blown committee as we work into December?
Brown is a low-end Flex this week, and that might prove to be the high-water mark for the rest of the season.
Khalil Herbert, RB
Khalil Herbert and his career average of 4.8 yards per carry came to Cincinnati at the trade deadline and is an interesting roster stash for the stretch run of fantasy leagues if you’re not buying the full-blown bellcow status of Chase Brown, but you’re drawing thin if you’re considering him in Week 10.
Not only does he just 10 touches on his 2024 resume, the Ravens own the fourth best rush defense per EPA and the short work week makes it unlikely that Herbert is involved in anything creative.
Zack Moss had been relegated to a 7-11 touch role prior to the neck injury that landed him on injured reserve and if Herbert can assume something in that neighborhood, maybe he flirts with Flex value as a bye week replacement — but not on Thursday night.
Andrei Iosivas, WR
Let me make this easy on you — Andrei Iosivas’ status, much like Mike Gesicki, is essentially tied to the health of Tee Higgins. This season, he is averaging 22.5% more PPR points per target when Cincinnati’s WR2 is off the field. That is the difference between a Flex grade and one that I have no interest in.
I don’t trust Iosivas as a target earner with or without Higgins active, and that is why I have him on my bench until proven otherwise. When comparing his role without Higgins to that when the star receiver is on the sideline, his slot usage spikes from 22.5% to 55%, and the percentage of his looks that come in the end zone vaults from 13% to 21.2%.
With only a pair of top-40 performances on his 2024 résumé, there is more risk than reward in a player like this. That said, this is a matchup you want to exploit when possible. If Higgins is out, we get that opportunity.
Ravens vs. the slot, 2024:
- 22nd in touchdown rate
- 23rd in attempts per game
- 23rd in yards per completion
- 26th in yards per pass
Ja’Marr Chase, WR
Ja’Marr Chase has caught at least five passes in five straight games and has seven scores over his past seven games.
The bend-don’t-break mentality of NFL defenses these days is hindering Chase (three straight weeks without a 20-yard reception) to a degree. Yet, with more than 10 targets in three of his past five contests, there is simply no way around labeling Cincinnati’s WR1 as an elite option in this great spot.
Touchdown catches for 41 and 70 yards highlighted Chase’s 41.3-point outing in Week 5 against the Ravens, the highest mark of the week across all positions (10 grabs for 193 yards and those two scores). Tee Higgins’ health impacts almost everyone on Cincinnati’s offense in a significant way — Chase is the exception.
Tee Higgins, WR
Tee Higgins didn’t practice last week (quad) and needs to be monitored closely, though the Thursday night kickoff is helpful for fantasy managers. With the bye coming (Week 12), I’d lean toward Cincinnati being cautious with the star receiver. Yet, at 4-5, do the Bengals have that luxury (next three games: Ravens, Chargers, and Steelers)?
Higgins matched Ja’Marr Chase’s two scores and saw a game-high 14 targets (nine catches for 83 yards) in the first meeting this season with the Ravens, his second straight, multi-score game against the division rival.
Normally, I’d give you the “if the Bengals start Higgins, you start Higgins” tagline, and while that is how I’m generally approaching this situation with the Ravens ranking as the fourth-worst EPA defense against receivers, I’m nervous that his quad injury could create a low floor.
Mike Gesicki, TE
A big day for Mike Gesicki in Week 9 against the Raiders almost got started even earlier — this high-end athlete made a sprawling catch near the pylon but was ruled (correctly) out of bounds. He ultimately found pay dirt in the third quarter as Joe Burrow was scrambling and found his tight end in the back of the end zone.
An all-out blitz resulted in a 47-yard fourth-quarter score to cap an already strong performance. If you started Gesicki, you made up serious ground at the position and might be thinking that you have a TE1 the rest of the way on your hands. Is that right?
Now, for the elephant in the room: the Tee Higgins thing. Here are two charts; the overall value of the targets looks about the same, right? Both showcase short, highly efficient targets.
The difference is volume. The chart on the left is with Higgins on the field (85 routes run for Gesicki) and the right is without Higgins (91 routes run). His role in this offense is the same regardless of who is active — he’s on this planet to run routes, not block — but Joe Burrow gives him all the work he can handle when he is elevated to essentially the second option.
Higgins’ status is a moving target, though, with no time spent on the practice field since suffering this injury two weeks ago, he should be considered unlikely to play until proven otherwise. If we are operating under that assumption, Gesicki is a low-end TE1 with a reasonable floor thanks to the projectable usage, especially with Erick All Jr. ruled out for the season following a torn ACL.