Cincinnati rookie Tahj Brooks faces uphill battle in crowded Bengals RB room

Yahoo

20-05-2025

CINCINNATI, Ohio (WDTN) – Bengals rookie Tahj Brooks faces an uphill battle this offseason as he looks for a spot in a crowded running back room. The sixth-round draft pick out of Texas Tech is one of four backs competing for roster spots this season.
The Manor, Texas native established himself as the top dog of the Red Raiders' Big 12-leading offense in 2024.
Brooks rushed for 1,317 yards and 14 touchdowns in his fifth and final season in Lubbock, becoming Texas Tech's all-time leading rusher with 4,369 career yards. He posted back-to-back 1,000-plus yard seasons to finish his college career, carrying a heavy load for the Texas Tech offense with 633 touches in his final two seasons.
Brooks enters a running back regime in Cincinnati consisting of 2024 primary starter Chase Brown, Zack Moss, who is coming off a season-ending neck injury, and Samaje Perine, who was brought back to Cincinnati this offseason on a two-year deal.
'They play this game at the highest level, and I just want to join them and just be a part of that,' Brooks said. 'I feel like I'm all-in-one play. I feel like I have the power that Samaje has. I can have routes, I can run routes as good as Chase Brown.'
Along with his heavy workload in the rush game, Brooks had 100 career receptions at Texas Tech and two receiving touchdowns.
Brooks' strength comes in his ability to make quick cuts, as evidenced by his 4.06 shuttle run at the NFL Combine, the fastest among any running back in this draft class.
'My level of just making guys miss. I can make guys miss on any type of level. Behind the line of scrimmage, getting them extra yards, or on the line of scrimmage in a one-on-one. That's just something in my specialty about me.'
But sometimes the best ability is availability, which is something Brooks was touted for in his collegiate career. In his final two years as the full-time starter in Lubbock, Brooks missed just one regular-season game and amassed 1,300 yards in back-to-back seasons en route to the program rushing crown.
'I feel like you gotta be consistent. That's the name of the game. I feel like being consistent is something that's in my game,' Brooks said.'Something I proved to coaches in my college and high school career, but now it's just starting to prove it in the NFL in my pro career.'
The Bengals continue voluntary offseason practices this week before OTAs begin on May 27.
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