Who Should I Start? Nick Chubb or Rico Dowdle

Saturday, October 18, 5:18 PM

Houston Texans running back Nick Chubb will be back on the field on Monday night against the Seahawks after his team's Week 6 bye week. Chubb went into the bye week with a strong performance, totaling 61 rushing yards and a touchdown against the Ravens on just 11 carries. He has seen his snap share start to slip a bit, though, dropping from around 50% the first three weeks of the season to just 34% in Week 5. He still had more carries than any other running back in that win, though, and he seems to be the go-to option on early downs and in run-focused situations. He'll remain in a timeshare with rookie Woody Marks and Dameon Pierce on Monday, but he still brings enough touchdown-dependent upside to be an RB3 or flex play since he is the No. 29 RB this week in RotoBaller's rankings.

Saturday, October 18, 4:25 PM

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle has been one of the best stories in the NFL over the past two weeks, totaling an unbelievable 473 yards and two touchdowns as the lead back in place of Chuba Hubbard (calf). Hubbard will make his return on Sunday against the Jets, which muddies the outlook for the backfield this week. Hubbard earned a contract extension for his strong production last season and operated as the clear lead back before getting injured this season, but the superb play of Dowdle certainly changes some things. Head coach Dave Canales was noncommittal on how touches would be distributed, but expect it to be close to an even split, perhaps with a lean to Dowdle. Given his recent strong play, Dowdle profiles as a viable RB2 or flex start in Week 7 against the Jets.