Who Should I Start? Austin Ekeler or Rico Dowdle

Monday, September 22, 12:34 PM

Although Washington Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. wasn't all that efficient (3.5 yards per carry) in his 2025 debut in the team's 41-24 blowout win over the visiting Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, he did lead the team with 11 carries. Rodriguez was a healthy scratch the first two weeks, but he was elevated to the active roster for Week 3 after Austin Ekeler tore his Achilles in Week 2. The 24-year-old ran for 39 yards on his 11 carries and was not utilized in the passing game. Rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt was second on the team with eight carries, and he, too, was inefficient with just 26 yards on the ground. Jeremy McNichols and quarterback Marcus Mariota combined for 10 rushing attempts and two touchdowns against the Raiders. Croskey-Merritt has the most upside in the Commanders' backfield moving forward with Ekeler done for the year, but Rodriguez is worth a waiver-wire pickup if you have JCM rostered or are looking for RB depth. Rodriguez is currently rostered in only 5% of Yahoo leagues.

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.