Who Should I Start? Raheem Mostert or Rico Dowdle

Sunday, September 7, 12:00 PM

Las Vegas Raiders running back Raheem Mostert is inactive for Week 1 of the 2025 regular season on Sunday against the New England Patriots. Mostert is healthy heading into the regular-season opener, so this is a bad sign for his potential involvement in the Raiders' backfield this year in his first year with the team. The Raiders drafted rookie Ashton Jeanty in the first round in April, and he's fully expected to lead Vegas' backfield in his first year in the NFL. The oft-injured Mostert has now been bumped down the depth chart and will open the year as the RB4 behind Jeanty, Zamir White and Dylan Laube. The 33-year-old veteran can be dumped if you were rostering him as a handcuff for Jeanty in redraft leagues. Mostert led the league with 18 rushing touchdowns in 2023 in Miami but played in 13 games last year and fell to just two TDs.

Saturday, August 9, 4:08 PM

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle showed a glimpse of his potential as a pass-catching threat in the team's preseason debut against the Cleveland Browns, recording one reception for 20 yards to go along with two rushes for seven yards. The 27-year-old running back is entering his sixth season in the NFL after spending his entire career with the Dallas Cowboys, which was riddled with injuries. Dowdle is clearly behind Chuba Hubbard on the depth chart, but could carve out a role in the Panthers' receiving or two-minute offense in 2025. Coming off an underwhelming 2024 season in Dallas, where high hopes for the lead back role didn't materialize (235-1,079-2 on the ground, 39-249-3 in the air), a move to a new location and a backup role could take some pressure off Dowdle and allow him to grow into his potential. Rotoballer currently projects him as RB55, but Dowdle could be a sneaky stash if anything happens to Hubbard throughout the season.