The Bengals have agreed to terms with fifth-round pick Chase Brown on his four-year deal, Aaron Wilson of KPRC reports.
Brown is the twin brother of Sydney, a safety who the Eagles drafted in the third round.
Brown played one year at Western Michigan and four years at Illinois. He produced back-to-back, 1,000-yard seasons, including 1,643 last season on 328 carries with 10 touchdowns. Brown also caught 27 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns.
He finished his career with 4,079 yards from scrimmage and 21 total touchdowns.
Browns joins the team’s running backs room looking for backup help behind Joe Mixon. Samaje Perine left for Denver in free agency, leaving Trayveon Williams as the top option behind Mixon with Brown in the mix for a key role this season.
“He’s a very good No. 2 rookie with starting upside. He can be a potential starter,” Bengals area scout Christian Sarkisian said of Brown, via Geoff Hobson of the team website. “Explosive. He’s very urgent. He runs aggressively. He runs around you, runs away from you and he can run over you.”
The Bengals’ other draft picks were Clemson edge rusher Myles Murphy (first round), Michigan cornerback DJ Turner (second), Alabama safety Jordan Battle (third), Purdue receiver Charlie Jones (fourth), Princeton receiver Andrei Iosivas (sixth), Michigan punter Brad Robbins (sixth) and Miami (FL) cornerback DJ Ivey (seventh).