Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Zach Charbonnet
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Rico Dowdle News
Friday, March 27, 11:40 AM
Across 17 games with the Carolina Panthers in 2025, running back Rico Dowdle racked up 1,373 scrimmage yards and seven touchdowns on 275 touches. After recording just 83 rushing yards over Carolina's first four games of the season, Dowdle took advantage of a mid-season injury to fellow Panthers back Chuba Hubbard and emerged as the team's RB1 through the remainder of the year. Dowdle's emergence in Carolina was enough to earn him a two-year, $12.25 million contract from the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency. In Pittsburgh, Dowdle will likely split touches with incumbent Steelers back Jaylen Warren. Warren's presence limits Dowdle's fantasy upside, particularly as a receiver. However, Dowdle is the more physical of the two backs and could be the team's preferred early-down and red zone rusher. Overall, Dowdle profiles as a fringe starting running back option for fantasy managers in a split backfield in Pittsburgh.
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Zach Charbonnet News
Monday, March 30, 7:15 PM
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald mentioned that running back Zach Charbonnet (knee) is "part of the equation" for the 2026 season, which means the Seahawks are expecting him to return at some point during the upcoming season, per John Boyle of the team's official website. "Zach's a great player, he's not going to miss the whole year," Macdonald said. It's great news for a Seattle backfield that lost Kenneth Walker III in free agency after he was named Super Bowl LX MVP. The team still has George Holani and signed Emanuel Wilson on the open market, but when healthy, Charbonnet should have a leg up for the majority of the team's backfield touches as they look to defend their Super Bowl title. The 25-year-old had a bigger role in 2025 next to Walker, carrying the ball a career-high 184 times for 730 yards (4.0 yards per carry) and 12 touchdowns in 16 regular-season games, adding 20 catches for 144 yards on 24 targets. There's still a lot to like about Charb's long-term fantasy profile, but in single-year leagues, tempers should be tempered after he tore his ACL in January during the postseason. He is not expected to be fully ready for the start of the 2026 regular season.
Rico Dowdle vs. Zach Charbonnet
Still trying to decide between Dowdle and Charbonnet? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Rico Dowdle is projected to score 0.0 points this week while Zach Charbonnet is projected to score 0.0 points.
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