The Cincinnati Bengals are undefeated coming into Week 9 against the Browns and fantasy football owners should look at starting Jeremy Hill over Giovani Bernard for the game. AJ Green, Tyler Eifert, Marvin Jones and Hill are the best starter options for Andy Dalton as the Bengals try and stay clean and improve to 8-0 in a divisional matchup with Cleveland.
The Bengals offense has been one of the best in the league this season and one of the main reasons has been the play of Andy Dalton. Dalton is putting up strong numbers this season and he is on pace for a career year with 15 touchdowns and just four interceptions. The running game is expected to be a focus once again for the Bengals and fantasy owners should look at starting Hill this week over Bernard, although both players are expected to contribute on Thursday night.
Hill has been the starter all season, but there have been points where Bernard has played better and has put up better number for fantasy owners, especially as a receiver out of the backfield. But the last two weeks Hill has been the better option touch-wise, as he had 16 touches last game compared to just three for Bernard. Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson has been talking about getting Hill going all season and he said to Paul Dehner Jr. at the Cincinnati Enquirer that the "arrow is pointing up" on Hill.
Jackson previously said to the Cincinnati Enquirer that Hill "doesn't play like I want him to play yet" and over the past couple weeks he has shown improvement. According to ESPN.com, Hill started off last week with a strong run and Coley Harvey writes that it was the "kind of run Jackson had been hoping to see all season" from Hill. Hill averaged over 5.0 yards per carry last season and this year he has struggled to get going, averaging just 3.3 yards per attempt.
Hill has been getting into the endzone at a decent rate with five touchdowns in seven games, but he has just 292 yards rushing this season. Last year Hill broke out as a rookie with 1124 yards and this season he is trying to get things going and this week against the Browns could be a breakout chance. Bernard still has value for fantasy owners, as he is great out of the backfield as a receiver and he currently leads the team with 439 rushing yards. Last week was a down game for Bernard and fantasy owners should look at Hill this week over Bernard.
AJ Green is having a strong season and as usual he is a great starter option for this week for the Bengals. Marvin Jones is a WR2 or WR 3 for this week, while Tyler Eifert is a great tight end option for owners. Eifert has been one of the breakout players in the league this season and he has six touchdowns in seven games, including three over his last three. Eifert has a good matchup with all the Browns injuries and he could have a big game on Thursday.