Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Roschon Johnson

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.

Saturday, January 4, 9:13 AM

Chicago Bears running back Roschon Johnson remains the No. 2 option on the depth chart, keeping him off the fantasy radar in most leagues ahead of his Week 18 matchup against the Green Bay Packers. There's always a chance the eliminated Bears could give increased snaps to some of their younger players, like Johnson, while reducing the workload for veterans such as running back D'Andre Swift. However, the Bears have stayed pretty quiet about their personnel decisions, and as of Saturday, there's no indication that Johnson's workload will change for the regular-season finale. He has just five carries for eight yards over his last two games, and prior to that, he missed nearly three full contests. As a result, he hasn't caught a pass nor found the end zone since Week 12 against Minnesota. This week, he and Swift will take on a Packers run defense that has allowed the 15th-fewest fantasy points to running backs in 2024, but the third-most catches and receiving yards. Johnson ranks as an RB4 in fantasy football and should continue to be benched in most leagues.