Who Should I Start? Alvin Kamara or Rico Dowdle

Friday, December 12, 2:41 PM

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (knee, ankle) has been ruled out for the third straight week with injuries to his knee and ankle. 6th-round rookie Devin Neal (abdomen), coming off an RB12 finish in a Week 14 win over the Buccaneers, has been limited at practice with an abdomen issue of his own. The Saints' final practice report of the week bears watching, because if Neal is unable to suit up for a Week 15 divisional matchup with the Panthers, New Orleans is left with Audric Estime and Evan Hull atop the running back depth chart. Carolina's defense has been a plus matchup for opposing running backs, so if Neal is able to go on Sunday, he should be viewed as a safe floor RB2/flex play.

Monday, December 15, 1:15 PM

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle rushed for 49 yards on 16 carries with one touchdown in Carolina's Week 15 loss to New Orleans on Sunday. He added five receiving yards on one reception and totaled 12.4 PPR points. Dowdle outperformed Chuba Hubbard, who registered 38 scrimmage yards and 4.8 PPR points. Despite the workload being mostly split between the two RBs, Dowdle logged the most snaps (60%). In Week 16, the Panthers will face their NFC South rival, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa Bay ranked 16th in fantasy points per game allowed to the RB position in the last four weeks leading up to Week 15. Even though Dowdle has a middling matchup this week, he is still worth starting as an RB2 or flex option based on his volume. In his last five games, he has fewer than 16 carries once, and he averaged 15.4 carries per game.