Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Will Shipley

Monday, December 1, 12:30 PM

Rico Dowdle rushed for only 58 yards on 18 carries during Week 13's 31-28 upset win over the Los Angeles Rams. The Carolina RB also added 21 receiving yards on two receptions, totaling 9.9 PPR points. It was the first time since Weeks 7-8 that Dowdle ended back-to-back games with less than 12 PPR points. For the first time since being named the starting RB in Week 9, Dowdle was outplayed by Chuba Hubbard, who registered 20.4 PPR points on 124 scrimmage yards and a receiving touchdown. The workload between the two RBs was split, and Hubbard took the most snaps (59%). In Week 15, Dowdle and the Panthers face the New Orleans Saints for the second time this season after a bye. In the last four weeks leading up to Week 13, the Saints ranked 13th in Fantasy Points Per Game allowed to RBs. During the Panthers' prior game against New Orleans in Week 10, Dowdle finished with 63 scrimmage yards and a rushing TD. With the possibility of Dowdle now being in a timeshare with Hubbard, he cannot be regarded as a must-start player regardless of matchup anymore. But he should still be a good start against the Saints, because the surprising Panthers may totally control the flow of the matchup. If Carolina rolls to a big win, you should see Dowdle get into the end zone at least once.

Friday, November 21, 11:34 PM

Philadelphia Eagles Will Shipley has been relegated mostly to special teams touches and the occasional carry behind Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby as the team's RB3. The Eagles acquired Bigsby ahead of Week 7, and he's mostly served as the primary backup to Barkley. Since then, Bigsby and Shipley have each played 14.5% of the offensive snaps, but Bigsby has 17 carries to Shipley's seven during that span. The 2024 fourth-round pick entered the season as the No. 2 back for the Eagles, then missed Weeks 2 and 3 due to a rib injury, and has now fallen out of favor with the team, going out and trading for another back to have another capable option behind Barkley. Shipley still has some appeal as a handcuff if Barkley were to go down, but it would likely be a timeshare with Bigsby.