Who Should I Start? Chuba Hubbard or Nick Westbrook-Ikhine

Friday, October 3, 1:18 PM

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales has labeled running back Chuba Hubbard (calf), who was officially ruled out for Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins, as "day-to-day" for next week, according to Joe Person of The Athletic. Canales said the team will take a look at Hubbard again next week, as far as his availability goes for Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys. Hubbard was battling his calf injury in the Week 4 loss to the New England Patriots last Sunday, which is why he played a season-low 51 percent of the offensive snaps in that one. With Hubbard officially sidelined this weekend in a winnable matchup against the Dolphins, Rico Dowdle will be a plug-and-play RB2 for fantasy managers in need at the position. Additionally, rookie Trevor Etienne will see a role increase as the change-of-pace option behind Dowdle, although he won't be a recommended flex play.

Saturday, October 4, 11:05 AM

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine will move up the depth chart to the third receiver for his team after Tyreek Hill (knee) was lost for the season. Westbrook-Ikhine signed a two-year, $6.5 million contract with Miami this offseason, and now, he'll have a chance to contribute on a more regular basis. He played a season-high 47% of snaps in Week 4 when Hill was hurt and caught his one target for one yard. For the season, he only has four catches for 26 yards, but he should get many more opportunities going forward. Last year with the Titans, he showed a knack for finding the end zone with nine touchdowns on 32 catches for 497 yards. Miami's offense hasn't been extremely productive this year, but with more work comes the potential that NWI works his way to fantasy relevance. This week's matchup with the Panthers isn't a great one for receivers, though, leaving him as the WR69 in RotoBaller's rankings.