Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Jordan Mason

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, 4:26 PM

Minnesota Vikings running back Jordan Mason is coming off a solid performance last week, but remains a risky, mid-tier option when his team travels to Dallas in Week 15. The first-year Viking has been solid when called upon, but has only finished better than 20th among PPR running backs one time this season. The Vikings have favored the run more than usual as they attempt to acclimate second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy, though Mason has drawn double-digit touches only once in the past five weeks as Minnesota has continued to favor Aaron Jones Sr. The Cowboys rank a lowly 28th against PPR running backs, but Mason has just 13 catches on the season and has become a touchdown-dependent fantasy play. Ranked as RotoBaller's No. 41 running back for Week 15, Mason is likely best saved for deeper formats.