Who Should I Start? J.K. Dobbins or Rico Dowdle

Monday, July 28, 5:06 PM

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton said that running back J.K. Dobbins' transition to the offense has been "swift." It appears that the Broncos' decision to sign Dobbins in early June so that he could enter the offseason break with the playbook was a good move. Dobbins is going to share the backfield with rookie second-rounder RJ Harvey in his first year in Denver, but so far in training camp, the 26-year-old former Raven has seen most of the work with the first-team offense. Harvey could easily take over the early-down role for the Broncos sooner than later in 2025, but if Dobbins can stay healthy, he should be in play in PPR fantasy leagues as an RB3/flex option. Dobbins played in just nine games from 2021-23 due to injuries and also missed four games in 2024 with the Chargers due to an MCL sprain, so the lengthy injury history is certainly concerning.

Tuesday, July 1, 9:24 PM

The Charlotte Observer's Alex Zietlow writes that Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle will split carries with rookie Trevor Etienne as the backups to lead back Chuba Hubbard in 2025. Dowdle is coming of a 1,000-yard season with the Dallas Cowboys in his first year as a lead back, but he'll be working behind Hubbard. As the RB2 last year in Carolina, Miles Sanders only had 55 carries, although he was mostly injured and ineffective. Zietlow adds that the Panthers will want to find out what they have in Etienne before Jonathon Brooks (knee) returns in 2026. If anything, the 27-year-old Dowdle will take away valuable pass-catching opportunities from Hubbard on third downs in his first year in Carolina, but it's going to be hard to justify him as an every-week fantasy starter as long as Hubbard stays healthy. Dowdle is ranked as RotoBaller's RB50 going into the 2025 season.