Who Should I Start? Kareem Hunt or Rico Dowdle

Saturday, October 25, 4:44 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt will play against the Washington Commanders in Week 8. Hunt was banged up this week with ankle and knee injuries, back he practiced in full on Saturday and will be active for Monday night's game. Hunt handled four carries for 18 yards in the 31-0 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7. Hunt briefly exited last week's contest with an injury and was able to return, but was not needed since the Chiefs had a huge lead. The 30-year-old back has taken a backseat to Isiah Pacheco in recent weeks, handling just 10 carries in the last two games compared to 27 carries for Pacheco. That trend will likely continue given that Hunt has been the more inefficient back this season and the team has stated they'd like to get rookie Brashard Smith more involved each week. The matchup will also not help out Hunt since the Commanders have been middle-of-the-pack in terms of fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs this season. Hunt is ranked RB43 in our RotoBaller Half-PPR rankings and should not find his way into fantasy lineups unless there are no other options available.

Friday, October 24, 9:00 PM

Rico Dowdle is in line for a potentially favorable matchup in Week 8 against the Bills. Over the last four weeks, Buffalo ranked 30th in fantasy points per game allowed to running backs. The Bills have a vulnerable run defense, allowing 31.1 fantasy points per game to RBs during that span. Expect Carolina to rely on their running game in Week 8 to stay in the game. Head coach Dave Canales mentioned that the workload between Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard will be split between the two running backs this week. Last week, Dowdle had a snap share of 46% compared to Hubbard, with 54%. Despite Hubbard having the advantage in snaps, Dowdle outrushed him 79 to 31 rushing yards. If the Panthers don't fall far behind, the running game can be productive because of the matchup. With six teams on a bye in fantasy football Week 8, lock Dowdle in as an RB2 start.