Bengals Test Landon Robinson at Fullback, and Chase Brown Owners Should Notice
A seventh-round DT is moonlighting as a goal-line lead blocker. That's small news that could reshape Cincinnati's TD math near the stripe.
RB1 workload intact; a lead blocker only helps his goal-line ceiling.
- Robinson: Navy DT, drafted 7th round in April 2026
- Getting goal-line fullback reps in camp
- Chase Brown: our #24 overall, #7 RB
- Brown 2025: 1019 rush yds, 11 total TD, 281 PPR
- Brown last 5 games 2025: +6.6 FPTS vs avg
The Bengals drafted Landon Robinson in the seventh round this April as a defensive tackle out of Navy, and he flashed in last Thursday's preseason opener by living in the opposing backfield. But Cincinnati's D-line is crowded, so the coaching staff floated a creative way to keep the Ohio native on the 53-man roster: line him up at fullback in short-yardage packages.
Robinson said coach Pitcher asked him point-blank whether he'd ever played the position, then sat him in offensive meetings and installed a goal-line package. Robinson figures the low center of gravity and quick first step he uses on the interior translate cleanly to lead-blocking near the stripe. It's not as wild as it sounds — Domata Peko did the same thing for Cincinnati years ago.
For fantasy purposes, a two-way seventh-rounder is a footnote. What matters is who he'd be blocking for.
Why This Matters for the Backfield
The obvious beneficiary is Chase Brown, our No. 24 overall player and RB7 heading into 2026-27. Brown was a workhorse last year, posting 1,019 rushing yards, six rushing scores and 69 catches for 437 yards and five more touchdowns — 281 PPR points across 17 games (2025, actual). He also closed hot, averaging 6.6 fantasy points above his season pace over his final five games. A dedicated goal-line blocker only tightens his grip on those high-value carries inside the five.
Samaje Perine is the other name to watch, though the fantasy relevance is thin. He finished 2025 with 382 rushing yards and three scores for 78 PPR points over 15 games (actual), sitting at our No. 231 overall, RB55. If Cincinnati is building a short-yardage identity, Perine could vulture the occasional TD, but he's a deep-league dart at best.
The move to watch here is nothing at all. Keep Brown parked as a locked-in RB1 — if anything, an extra lead blocker raises his touchdown ceiling. Robinson is a training-camp curiosity, not a roster add in any format. Don't overthink a fun camp story.
