Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Tahj Brooks

Thursday, November 13, 3:11 PM

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (quadriceps) was seen warming up at the portion of practice open to the media, so it looks like he will return to practice on Thursday, according to Alex Zietlow of The Charlotte Observer. Just like last week, Dowdle did not practice on Wednesday before returning to the field the following day. The 27-year-old has been managing a quad issue, but it hasn't kept him from playing and serving as Carolina's unquestioned lead back. He will likely be limited on Thursday, but as long as he upgrades to full on Friday (like he did last week), he should be good to go for Sunday's divisional game against the hosting Atlanta Falcons. Dowdle has been the RB10 this year in half-PPR scoring with 788 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 149 carries while also adding 18 catches for 142 yards and a score. He's a must-start in fantasy if he's active in Week 11.

Saturday, September 13, 3:20 PM

Cincinnati Bengals running back Tahj Brooks didn't log an offensive snap in the Week 1 win over the Browns. Most assumed the rookie would have at least a small role in the offense. However, that didn't happen in the AFC North clash with Cleveland, with Samaje Perine getting 13 snaps and Chase Brown leading the way with 39. Without question, Brown was expected to get most of the work out of the backfield for the Bengals this season. That likely won't change unless he goes down with an injury. Brooks should get some snaps moving forward, but he has a long way to go before earning a spot in redraft lineups, including for the Week 2 meeting with the Jacksonville Jaguars. On the other hand, he's at least worth stashing on dynasty rosters.