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Aidin Ebrahimi evaluates Cincinnati Bengals running back Zack Moss's fantasy football value in dynasty leagues heading into 2024. He reviews the stats and history of Moss and ranks him among dynasty running backs in the NFL.
When Zack Moss was traded from the Bills to the Colts in 2022, it looked like he would be a backup RB for the rest of his career. But Moss impressed in his last three games of the 2022 season when Jonathan Taylor went down, racking up 253 yards and scoring a touchdown.
That trend continued in 2023, as Moss took advantage of every opportunity he was given when Taylor was hurt. Moss ran for 558 yards and scored six touchdowns in eight games as a starter, which equates to 1,186 yards and 13 touchdowns in a full season. The Bengals saw Moss's potential and have brought him in to replace Joe Mixon, as they believe he can be their franchise running back. However, dynasty fantasy managers have overlooked Moss's value recently.
Should you be buying, selling, or holding Moss this offseason? Let's dive in.
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Zack Moss 2023 Season Review
Moss started the 2023 season on fire. After missing Week 1 due to an arm injury, he dominated in his first four games, rushing for 445 yards (5.0 yards per attempt) and scoring three rushing touchdowns.
He also caught eight passes for 72 yards and a touchdown. If he kept that pace up, he would have finished the year with over 2,000 yards from scrimmage (1,891 rushing + 306 receiving) while also scoring 17 total touchdowns.
We're going to talk about "Contact Balance" with Zack Moss pic.twitter.com/wGgepauhNb
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) March 18, 2024
But nothing lasts forever. Taylor returned in Week 5 and had to share touches with Moss. The Colts went 3-1 during Moss's hot streak, but they would drop their next three games as Moss averaged 48 yards per game and scored two more touchdowns, his last rushing scores of the season.
Moss would get three more starts to end the year, but he only had 205 rushing yards and one receiving touchdown in his last seven games of the year.
But here's something we have to consider: Moss spent the entire season dealing with an arm injury. He broke his arm right before August and spent a large chunk of the year on the injury report, missing three games in total. Now that Moss had more time to tend to this injury, we can assume that he'll be back to 100% this season with the Bengals.
Hopefully, he doesn't suffer any more injury setbacks so we can see what he can do as a true RB1.
What is Zack Moss Worth in Dynasty Leagues?
According to KeepTradeCut.com's crowdsourced rankings, Moss is valued as the dynasty RB34. He's placed just behind Jonathon Brooks and Aaron Jones, and just ahead of Trey Benson and James Conner. Considering how well he did early in the season and the fact that he's projected to be the Bengals' RB1, this is a disrespectful ranking for Moss, and it shows that dynasty managers are undervaluing him.
Zack Moss working patiently with good balance to get tough yardage pic.twitter.com/a0YTkRCX5H
— mike (@bengals_sans) March 16, 2024
Some fantasy managers are trading Moss along with picks for older running backs like Derrick Henry or RBs coming off of injuries like Nick Chubb, but these moves are super risky. These fantasy managers do not believe in what Moss can do as part of the Bengals offense, and they're willing to trade him and picks for bigger names. They would be much better off if they took a chance on Moss and kept these picks that they're trading.
Zack Moss 2024 Fantasy Football Outlook
Yes, we all know that the Colts offensive line is marginally better than the Bengals offensive line, but the 2021 AFC champions have been trying to improve that area since their loss to the Rams in Super Bowl LVI.
Orlando Brown Jr. had a disappointing debut season in Cincy, but he's young and will keep improving as he adjusts to the team. Ted Karras and Alex Cappa are also solid veterans who aren't stars but above average.
"You're getting a player who's hungry, ready to work and excited to play in front of you."
Who Dey Nation, THIS is Zack Moss ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/8yuscTp33z
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) March 20, 2024
Trent Brown is a massive upgrade over Jonah Williams, and Cordell Volson will have to play the best football of his life to prove himself to the team.
It also has the potential to get even better, as many mock drafts have the Bengals drafting one of the many great offensive linemen in the 2024 NFL Draft with their 18th overall pick.
With an improved offensive line, Moss has the potential to be a dangerous asset for this team. Cincinnati is looking to return to the playoffs after a disappointing and injury-riddled 2023 season. Joe Mixon still ran for over 1,000 yards for them last year, and there's no reason why Moss can't do the same.
In terms of competition, the only real RB on the Bengals roster who can share touches with Moss is 2023 fifth-round pick Chase Brown. Brown got a bigger role with the team from Week 12 until the end of the season, but he was still the clear RB2 behind Mixon, as he only averaged seven touches per game during that stretch.
Considering all these factors, Moss is excellent value for his draft spot and is a low-risk, high-reward RB2 who has RB1 potential. Trading one of your older/riskier RBs for Moss and a draft pick could be a very smart move.
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