Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Emanuel Wilson

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.

Friday, January 9, 9:39 AM

Green Bay Packers running back Emanuel Wilson has had a nice 2025 season, rushing for 496 yards on 125 attempts (3.97 YPC) and scoring three touchdowns across 17 games. His involvement in the Packers offense increased this season, as he has played a complementary role to starter Josh Jacobs, and he has also filled in for Jacobs a handful of times throughout the 2025 season, providing fantasy managers with a plug-and-play RB2 option during those weeks. With the Packers resting their starters in Week 18, and Jacobs coming out and saying on Wednesday that "this is the best he's felt in six weeks," after dealing with a knee injury for the majority of the second half of the season, it appears likely that the Packers will lean on the veteran in this situation. This would make it difficult to justify rostering Wilson in fantasy playoff leagues as anything more than a bench spot should Jacobs get hurt, and Wilson would step in.