Who Should I Start? Justice Hill or Rico Dowdle

Sunday, January 12, 10:18 AM

Baltimore Ravens running back Justice Hill crossed the goal line in a 28-14 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round. The change-of-pace back caught a touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson as he improvised and escaped the pass rush at the end of the second quarter. Hill finished the game with six carries for 12 yards and four receptions for 13 yards and a touchdown on four targets. Derrick Henry was dominating the run game, so Hill didn't see as many opportunities with a 39% snap share. Hill will try to find the end zone again in the divisional round against either the Buffalo Bills or Houston Texans.

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.