Who Should I Start? CeeDee Lamb or Rico Dowdle

Saturday, December 21, 9:51 AM

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb has continued to be a major contributor in fantasy football despite losing his quarterback, Dak Prescott (hamstring), in the middle of the season. Lamb has looked solid in six full games with Cooper Rush under center, as the two have connected for 41 completions, 429 yards, and two touchdowns. He ranks as the overall WR11 during that six-game span, and he has found the end zone in each of his last two contests. In Week 16, Lamb will take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whose defensive secondary has been suspect at times in 2024. The Buccaneers have allowed the 13th-fewest fantasy points to slot receivers, as well as the 13th-most fantasy points to receivers who operate out wide. Lamb has played 368 snaps (46.6 percent) from the slot this season, which is the seventh-most in the NFL. Still, he should be able to feast against the Buccaneers, who allowed Los Angeles Chargers slot receiver Ladd McConkey to put up five catches, 58 yards, and one touchdown against them in Week 15. For fantasy purposes, Lamb continues to rank as an intriguing fantasy playmaker in the mid-to-low WR1 range this Sunday.

Saturday, December 21, 12:03 PM

Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle will be facing a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense on Sunday Night Football in Week 16 that has allowed the fewest half-PPR points to opposing RBs in the last five weeks, which includes just one rushing touchdown given up. However, because of the high volume that Dowdle has been seeing of late as Dallas' clear-cut No. 1 RB, he'll carry high-end RB2 value for fantasy managers still alive in the playoffs. The 26-year-old is coming off a a career-best 149 rushing yards on 25 carries in last week's win over the Carolina Panthers after setting a previous career-best with 131 rushing yards the week prior. In the last four games, Dowdle has really been eating, seeing at least 18 carries per game and averaging 5.69 yards per attempt with a touchdown. Fantasy managers may not want to expect another career performance on Sunday night, but Dowdle is certainly trending up.