Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Bijan Robinson

Monday, December 15, 1:15 PM

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle rushed for 49 yards on 16 carries with one touchdown in Carolina's Week 15 loss to New Orleans on Sunday. He added five receiving yards on one reception and totaled 12.4 PPR points. Dowdle outperformed Chuba Hubbard, who registered 38 scrimmage yards and 4.8 PPR points. Despite the workload being mostly split between the two RBs, Dowdle logged the most snaps (60%). In Week 16, the Panthers will face their NFC South rival, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa Bay ranked 16th in fantasy points per game allowed to the RB position in the last four weeks leading up to Week 15. Even though Dowdle has a middling matchup this week, he is still worth starting as an RB2 or flex option based on his volume. In his last five games, he has fewer than 16 carries once, and he averaged 15.4 carries per game.

Friday, December 12, 12:06 AM

Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson had 19 carries, 93 rushing yards, and one rushing touchdown during Thursday's Week 15 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He also caught eight of his 11 targets for an additional 82 receiving yards. The lone blemish on Robinson's final stat line was a fumble in the third quarter. Outside of the turnover, the former first-round pick had an enormous showing on Thursday Night Football, playing a major role in the Falcons' comeback victory. He was efficient on the ground, heavily involved and productive as a receiver, and contributed to the scoring with a nifty rushing touchdown. Unlike in some previous weeks, Robinson was able to fend off Tyler Allgeier from having much of a role in Week 15. Robinson played 90.1% of the snaps with 27 total touches, whereas Allgeier played just 16.9% of the snaps with two touches. Allgeier's 16.9% snap share was his second-lowest mark of the season, trailing only Week 3 when he played fewer than 10%. Long story short, Robinson remains the undisputed workhorse here, and he's going to play a massive role in helping managers pursue a fantasy championship over the next few weeks. He should continue to feast against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 16.