Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Troy Franklin

Saturday, January 3, 10:02 AM

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (toe) does not have an injury designation heading into the team's week 18 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Dowdle appears to be in a 60-40 timeshare with fellow running back Chuba Hubbard, with the latter seeing the vast majority of third downs over the past three games. The Panthers hosted the Buccaneers in Week 16, and Dowdle was held to just 29 yards from nine rushing attempts, but did earn 14 receiving yards from his four receptions off six targets. Even though Dowdle has been absent on nearly every third down over the last two games, he still managed to earn more targets and run six more routes each game than Hubbard. Dowdle profiles as a low-end RB2 against a middle-of-the-road Buccaneers run defense in the 2025 regular season finale.

Friday, December 26, 3:15 PM

Denver Broncos wide receiver Troy Franklin saw another dropoff in snap share during the 20-13 win against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17. After posting an uptrend in snaps with 50% in Week 15 and 64% in Week 16, Franklin was only on the field for 38% of snaps in Week 17 despite not having to compete with rookie wide receiver Pat Bryant (concussion) for snaps. Franklin still caught all four of his targets for a modest 17 yards and no touchdowns. The Broncos will host the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 18, and Franklin will seemingly remain a volatile option until otherwise noted.