Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Tank Bigsby

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, August 2, 1:05 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby was in on the team's entire first drive of their scrimmage on Friday at training camp, and Travis Etienne Jr. and rookie Bhayshul Tuten weren't seen at all. It's just a scrimmage early in camp, but it's worth noting as Bigsby looks to take control of a bigger part of Jacksonville's backfield under new head coach Liam Coen in 2025. During practices, both Bigsby and Etienne have been rotating work with the first-team offense, so the Jags could use a straight committee approach to their running game. RotoBaller has Etienne ranked as the RB33 this year, with Bigby checking in at No. 50. Bigsby was impressive last year, though, rushing for 766 yards and seven touchdowns on 168 carries (4.6 yards per tote). He could command a larger share of touches in 2025, but his lack of passing-game prowess hurts his overall fantasy upside.