Who Should I Start? A.J. Brown or Rico Dowdle

Wednesday, January 15, 7:33 PM

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (knee, rest) did not practice with the rest of the team on Wednesday. Brown has dealt with a minor knee injury since late in the regular season but hasn't missed any time because of it, and he indicated that he was just being rested on Wednesday. The 27-year-old fully expects to return to the field on Thursday and be ready to play this Sunday against the visiting Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round of the postseason. The veteran wideout was a huge disappointment for any fantasy managers that had him in their DFS lineups on wild-card weekend, as he had just one catch for 10 yards on three targets in a 22-10 win over the Green Bay Packers. Brown is a great bounce-back candidate this weekend, though, especially after he caught six of seven targets for 109 yards and a touchdown in the Nov. 24 win over the Rams in LA.

Sunday, January 5, 9:23 PM

Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle rushed 22 times for 72 yards and a touchdown during Sunday's Week 18 loss to the Washington Commanders. He also caught two of his three targets for an additional 12 yards through the air. Dowdle was quite impressive throughout the 2024 season, supplanting Ezekiel Elliott as the Cowboys' undisputed No. 1 running back. He finished the campaign with 1,079 rushing yards, 249 receiving yards, and five total touchdowns through 16 games, ranking as a low-end RB2 in fantasy football. There has been plenty of speculation that the Cowboys could take an aggressive approach with their pursuit of a running back this offseason, such as drafting Ashton Jeanty. However, there's also a real possibility they feel confident in Dowdle and don't take as big of a swing for a backfield addition within the upcoming months. The 26-year-old currently still has appeal as a mid-range RB3 option heading into the 2025 campaign, and until Dallas brings in competition, this backfield belongs to Dowdle.