Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Tyler Allgeier

Thursday, January 29, 11:41 AM

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle had a second straight 1,000-yard season in 2025 in his first year with the Panthers. Dowdle had a nearly identical campaign to the one he had with the Dallas Cowboys in 2024, although he had a career-high seven touchdowns (six rushing, one receiving) in 17 regular-season games. The 27-year-old had a career-high 236 rushing attempts (one more than last year) for 1,076 yards and six rushing scores. Dowdle had a stretch from Week 5 to Week 9 when backfield mate Chuba Hubbard was injured, where he was one of the most productive backs in the NFL, handling 103 carries for 652 yards and three touchdowns while also catching 10 passes for 112 yards and another TD in five games. Dowdle struggled to produce meaningful numbers for fantasy managers the rest of the way while sharing touches with Hubbard, and he only had five carries for nine yards while losing a fumble in the playoff loss to the Rams. Dowdle proved the last two seasons that he can handle a heavier workload. He's looking for a bigger role and seems likely to depart in free agency in 2026. Dowdle's fantasy value next season will depend entirely on where he's playing.

Saturday, December 27, 4:51 PM

Atlanta Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier tied a season high with 16 rush attempts last week, totaling 79 yards on the ground (4.9 yards per rush). Without recording a touchdown, though, and recording one catch for negative six yards left him with a disappointing line for fantasy. Although the 25-year-old has eight touchdowns on the season, he's very susceptible to quiet outings and has not scored in three consecutive games now. It could be tough sledding in Week 17's Monday night home matchup against the Rams, a defense that has allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs and just 92.7 rush yards per game over the last three weeks (fifth-fewest). As 7.5-point underdogs, the Falcons may need to take to the air, which could limit Allgeier's potential involvement, so he'll once again be a risky Flex play in what is likely the championship round for season-long fantasy managers.