Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Emanuel Wilson

Sunday, January 11, 12:48 PM

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle, who will be a free agent in March, said his decreased number of carries at the end of the season will impact his thinking in free agency, according to Joe Person of The Athletic. Dowdle said he wants to go somewhere "where he can get the bulk of the carries." The 27-year-old was an unquestioned RB1 during the 2025 season when Chuba Hubbard missed time with an injury. However, Dowdle was involved in more of a timeshare late in the year following Hubbard's return, and he watched Hubbard score twice in the Wild-Card loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday. He had only five rushing attempts for nine yards while adding one catch on two targets for six yards. In the final four regular-season games, Dowdle averaged only 3.3 yards per carry as his role shrank. It sounds as though Dowdle doesn't plan on signing in Carolina, but it remains to be seen if he'll be able to land a lead-back role elsewhere in free agency.

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.