Who Should I Start? Kareem Hunt or Rico Dowdle

Saturday, October 4, 8:55 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt will face the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night in Week 5. Hunt rushed 13 times for 34 yards (2.62 yards per carry) and caught one pass for 13 yards in last week's win over the Baltimore Ravens. The 30-year-old veteran back continues to get valuable touches out of the Kansas City backfield despite his inefficiency, but that could change in the near future. Isiah Pacheco and Brashard Smith handled seven carries and four carries, respectively, in Week 4. The rookie Smith has seen his snap rate increase each week this season, and there's been a lot of buzz about getting him more involved in the offense. That said, Hunt will presumedly still be the lead back this week against the Jaguars, who allow the eighth-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs. Hunt is ranked RB32 in our RotoBaller Half-PPR rankings, making him the highest-ranked running back for the Chiefs and an RB3/Flex option this week.

Sunday, October 5, 4:55 PM

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle carried the ball 23 times for 206 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown during Sunday's Week 5 win over the Miami Dolphins. He also caught three of four targets for an additional 28 receiving yards. Dowdle filled in for the injured Chuba Hubbard (calf) and turned in one of the best individual fantasy performances we've seen through five weeks this season. He proved to be a terrific waiver wire addition for many fantasy managers who inserted him into their lineups on Sunday. Even if Hubbard returns next week, Dowdle has done more than enough to carve out a significant role on offense. He's worth deploying as an RB3/flex with RB2 upside going forward, including next week in a revenge game against the Dallas Cowboys.