Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Khalil Herbert

Tuesday, July 1, 9:24 PM

The Charlotte Observer's Alex Zietlow writes that Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle will split carries with rookie Trevor Etienne as the backups to lead back Chuba Hubbard in 2025. Dowdle is coming of a 1,000-yard season with the Dallas Cowboys in his first year as a lead back, but he'll be working behind Hubbard. As the RB2 last year in Carolina, Miles Sanders only had 55 carries, although he was mostly injured and ineffective. Zietlow adds that the Panthers will want to find out what they have in Etienne before Jonathon Brooks (knee) returns in 2026. If anything, the 27-year-old Dowdle will take away valuable pass-catching opportunities from Hubbard on third downs in his first year in Carolina, but it's going to be hard to justify him as an every-week fantasy starter as long as Hubbard stays healthy. Dowdle is ranked as RotoBaller's RB50 going into the 2025 season.

Wednesday, March 12, 5:14 PM

The Indianapolis Colts and free-agent running back Khalil Herbert reached an agreement on an undisclosed one-year deal on Wednesday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Herbert began the 2024 season with the Chicago Bears and had only eight carries for 16 yards and a touchdown in six games before being traded to the Cincinnati Bengals, where he finished with 28 carries for 114 yards and no touchdowns in eight games behind Chase Brown. Now in Indianapolis, the 26-year-old will have a similar backup role to Jonathan Taylor. Because he's unlikely to see much volume unless Taylor misses time with an injury, Herbert will mainly be a handcuff in deeper leagues for those that draft Taylor. The former sixth-rounder (217th overall) by the Bears in 2021 has averaged 4.8 yards per carry on 400 rushing attempts for 1,905 yards and nine TDs in his four years in the NFL.