Who Should I Start? Nick Chubb or Rico Dowdle

Saturday, July 26, 2:23 PM

News broke on Saturday that Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (foot) is expected to be out for an extended period due to a frustrating foot injury. According to Jordan Schultz, NFL insider, even with Mixon missing extended time, the Houston Texans will be judicious with veteran Nick Chubb in training camp. It wasn't too long ago that the four-time pro-bowler, Chubb, suffered a severe knee injury (torn ACL, MCL, meniscus, and medial capsule) in a game against the Steelers. He made his comeback in 2024 around mid-season and proceeded to play a handful of games before suffering a season-ending foot injury. He has since recovered and been picked up by the Texans in free agency to be the backup to Mixon. With Mixon expected to miss an extended amount of time, the Texans will likely lean on the veteran to carry the workload, but it appears they will do so cautiously. With Mixon and Dameon Pierce (quad) both out, 2025 fourth-round pick Woody Marks will likely see an uptick in reps and opportunities as well.

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.