Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Rhamondre Stevenson

Saturday, August 9, 4:08 PM

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle showed a glimpse of his potential as a pass-catching threat in the team's preseason debut against the Cleveland Browns, recording one reception for 20 yards to go along with two rushes for seven yards. The 27-year-old running back is entering his sixth season in the NFL after spending his entire career with the Dallas Cowboys, which was riddled with injuries. Dowdle is clearly behind Chuba Hubbard on the depth chart, but could carve out a role in the Panthers' receiving or two-minute offense in 2025. Coming off an underwhelming 2024 season in Dallas, where high hopes for the lead back role didn't materialize (235-1,079-2 on the ground, 39-249-3 in the air), a move to a new location and a backup role could take some pressure off Dowdle and allow him to grow into his potential. Rotoballer currently projects him as RB55, but Dowdle could be a sneaky stash if anything happens to Hubbard throughout the season.

Thursday, August 14, 2:08 PM

New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson (undisclosed) remained sidelined at Thursday's training camp practice, according to Brian Hines of Pats Pulpit. Stevenson probably isn't in line to suit up for the second preseason game on Saturday against the Minnesota Vikings, but head coach Mike Vrabel said on Wednesday that Stevenson's injury is minor. The 27-year-old shouldn't be in danger of having to miss the start of the 2025 regular season in early September. When Stevenson is healthy and available, he's going to split touches in New England's backfield with rookie TreVeyon Henderson, although given his issues with ball security, this could easily become Henderson's backfield in 2025 when all is said and done. If that ends up happening, Stevenson's best bet for fantasy purposes might be as an RB3/flex touchdown vulture at the goal line.