Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Josh Downs
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.2 | 58.6 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 15.3 | 0.1 |
Rico Dowdle News
Sunday, September 13, 3:57 PM
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rico Dowdle rushed for just 15 yards on eight carries during Sunday's Week 1 win over the Atlanta Falcons. He also caught two of his five targets for an additonal six receiving yards. Between carries and targets, Dowdle had 13 opportunities, which is still a somewhat reasonable result. The biggest issue was that he was wildly efficient on the ground and through the air, averaging 1.9 yards per carry and 3.0 yards per catch. Enerting the season, it seemed like Dowdle was going to split the volume from this backfield with Jaylen Warren, but the latter ended up leading the way on Sunday. For now, we're inclined to believe we'll see similar backfield dynamics next week and beyond. Warren has earned the right to touch the ball 15+ times per game as a top-25 fantasy running back while Dowdle is still in more of the low-end RB3/flex tier for now.
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.1 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 4.5 | 50.3 | 0.3 |
Josh Downs News
Saturday, September 12, 12:34 AM
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs (calf) practiced in full all week and looks to put his minor training camp injury behind him as he goes into Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens. Admittedly, Downs is coming off a rough 2025 season, setting career lows in receiving yards (566), targets (88), and receptions (58). Even though Michael Pittman Jr. moved on during the offseason, Downs will still share targets with freshly acquired veteran Keenan Allen and Alec Pierce (heel), with the latter possibly being on a snap count in Week 1. Downs showed promise last year between Weeks 6 and 9 with quarterback Daniel Jones, finishing as a WR2 in each week except for Week 7 when he was ruled out due to a concussion. Looking to this Sunday, Downs has a decent matchup against the Ravens defense, which ranked in the bottom five against wide receivers last year. However, the Ravens defense got a massive overhaul in the offseason and will almost certainly show different schemes this year under new head coach Jesse Minter. This week, Downs is Rotoballer's WR33, placing him firmly in WR3/low-end flex territory, but with high upside.
Rico Dowdle vs. Josh Downs
Still trying to decide between Dowdle and Downs? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Rico Dowdle is projected to score 12.2 points this week while Josh Downs is projected to score 11.1 points.
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