Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Jaleel McLaughlin

Thursday, January 29, 11:41 AM

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle had a second straight 1,000-yard season in 2025 in his first year with the Panthers. Dowdle had a nearly identical campaign to the one he had with the Dallas Cowboys in 2024, although he had a career-high seven touchdowns (six rushing, one receiving) in 17 regular-season games. The 27-year-old had a career-high 236 rushing attempts (one more than last year) for 1,076 yards and six rushing scores. Dowdle had a stretch from Week 5 to Week 9 when backfield mate Chuba Hubbard was injured, where he was one of the most productive backs in the NFL, handling 103 carries for 652 yards and three touchdowns while also catching 10 passes for 112 yards and another TD in five games. Dowdle struggled to produce meaningful numbers for fantasy managers the rest of the way while sharing touches with Hubbard, and he only had five carries for nine yards while losing a fumble in the playoff loss to the Rams. Dowdle proved the last two seasons that he can handle a heavier workload. He's looking for a bigger role and seems likely to depart in free agency in 2026. Dowdle's fantasy value next season will depend entirely on where he's playing.

Saturday, January 24, 7:55 PM

Denver Broncos running back Jaleel McLaughlin should continue to be the primary change-of-pace back behind rookie RJ Harvey, with J.K. Dobbins remaining on Injured Reserve after a week of limited practices. In Denver's Divisional Round win over a Bills team that came into the playoffs with one of the worst run defenses in the league, McLaughlin was able to turn four carries into 21 yards. In the Conference Championship, he'll face a Patriots defense that has been dominant against the run since Milton Williams' return from an ankle injury that cost him five games. Through two playoff games, New England has allowed a total of 74 yards on designed runs, so if McLaughlin is to find any success on Sunday, it may need to come through screens and checkdowns, though that is a role that's been owned by Harvey for most of the year. McLaughlin is RotoBaller's RB7 for the week, but there is a world where he is entirely phased out of the game script.