Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Blake Corum

Friday, January 30, 12:35 PM

ESPN's David Newton writes that unless Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle wants to "return at a bargain price," he "appears headed to this third team in three seasons." General manager Dan Morgan said he had a good meeting with Dowdle after the season, but Dowdle was unhappy with the way the year ended -- he had seven carries for 10 yards in the Week 18 regular-season finale and only five carries for nine yards in the Wild-Card loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The 27-year-old has produced back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and was Carolina's leading rusher (1,076 yards), but he'd likely be in a committee backfield again with Chuba Hubbard if he were to re-sign. Hubbard is locked in through the 2028 campaign on a four-year, $33.2 million deal he signed in 2024. "I just want to be a guy who can go out there and just get the bulk [of the carries]," Dowdle said.

Saturday, January 24, 4:00 PM

Los Angeles Rams running back Blake Corum handled only six touches in the team's Divisional Round win over the Bears, and in Sunday's Conference Championship, he faces a Seahawks defense that ranked as the most formidable against fantasy running backs in the regular season. In their Divisional Round thrashing of the 49ers, Seattle held MVP finalist Christian McCaffrey to 35 rushing yards and 39 receiving yards on 17 total opportunities. Should Corum find himself drastically out-touched by Kyren Williams as he was against Chicago, he'll need elite efficiency to see any relevance in playoff fantasy leagues -- a tall order, given Seattle's track record. Corum is RotoBaller's RB6 for the week.