The Bengals’ running back room has a very real opening beyond this season, and Tahj Brooks has a chance to push his way into it.
As the roster stands now, Cincinnati’s only realistic contributor at running back who is under contract after this season is 2025 sixth-round pick Tahj Brooks. Chase Brown is entering the final year of his rookie deal, while Samaje Perine, who turns 31 in September, is also set to reach the open market.
That puts Brooks in a spot where a quiet rookie year doesn’t have to define him. He was barely visible as a first-year player, but that’s not hard to explain.
Perine was back for a second stint with the team and already knew the offense inside and out. Brown, meanwhile, took off after a slow start and made it hard for anyone else to crack the rotation.
Still, the idea that Brooks is just an afterthought feels a little too easy. The better question might be whether he can make this training camp matter enough to challenge Perine for the RB2 job.
There’s plenty in Brooks’ Texas Tech résumé that suggests he deserves a longer look. Over his last two college seasons, he piled up 3,046 rushing yards while averaging 5.3 yards per carry. He also brought a receiving element to the table, finishing with 84 catches over his last three seasons.
His athletic profile backs up the tape. Brooks was drafted in the sixth round, pick 193, and posted an 8.58 RAS out of 10.00, which ranked 300th out of 2,106 running backs from 1987 to 2025. He runs with a thick build, but he’s still agile enough to make defenders miss laterally before dropping his pads and getting downhill in a hurry.
That downhill style fits a Bengals run game that has never exactly been shy about leaning on the basics. Cincinnati’s ground attack is built on a steady diet of inside zone, split flow inside zone, power, and duo, with very little flash mixed in. When the ball leaves Joe Burrow’s hands, it often feels like the run game is there to serve a purpose more than to surprise anybody.
That’s part of why Brooks is interesting. He has some home-run ability in his college film, and that matters because Perine, for all his reliability, is not the kind of back who scares defenses with pure burst at this stage of his career.
If Brooks can show enough in 2026 to look like a trustworthy backup to Brown, that alone would be a win for Cincinnati. If he becomes more than that, the Bengals could wind up with another useful piece for Burrow to work with.
For now, the job is simple: show something in camp, change the conversation, and make the RB2 race worth watching.
In Other News...
Bengals Linebacker Problem Could Finally Meet A Rival-Created Opening
The Bengals spent the offseason leaving their linebacker room untouched, even with questions lingering about the groups depth. That decision has kept the spotlight on a position that could still use help, especially if a younger, cost-controlled option becomes available after roster churn around the league.
Nathaniel Watson is one name worth watching because of the kind of profile Cincinnati has been willing to consider in the past. A sixth-round pick in 2024, he missed the entire 2025 season with a torn biceps, but his college rsum showed real production and enough versatility to make him more than a flier if the Browns decide to move on. [Read more 🡒]
These Bengals Camp Battles Could Reshape The Roster Fast
The Bengals head into camp with more competition than certainty in a few spots, and that is exactly how a roster can change quickly in late July. Defensive tackle looks especially crowded after the offseason added Jonathan Allen to a group that already has multiple young players trying to carve out a place, while the secondary and tight end room also feature enough bodies to make every practice rep matter.
What makes this camp worth watching is how many of those battles could spill directly into roster decisions. Dax Hill is still part of a fluid mix in the defensive backfield, and the tight end group has several players jockeying for the roles that matter most in heavier packages. On the defensive line, the numbers game is just as real, which means a strong camp from one player could come at the expense of another before the preseason even settles in. [Read more 🡒]