https://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/article/will-rico-dowdle-leaving-the-cowboys-for-the-panthers-hurt-chuba-hubbards-fantasy-football-value-235019371.html
The Panthers continue building on what became a team strength last year, reportedly agreeing to a one-year deal with Rico Dowdle worth $6.25 million on Wednesday.
Carolina ranked 11th in rushing EPA last season on the back of an offensive line overhaul in Dave Canales’ first season on the job and a 1,000-yard season by Chuba Hubbard. The team has now added another back who went over 1,000 yards last season in Dowdle.
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Dowdle was a long-standing backup with the Dallas Cowboys, but shined when finally given the reins down the stretch of 2024. From Week 12 on, Dowdle handled 68.3% of the Cowboys’ carries, which was the third-highest rate for any running back in that span. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry during that span. On the season he averaged 2.6 yards per carry after contact, eighth-best among backs with 150-plus rushes.
The best part about Dowdle in this Panthers run game is his multiplicity as a rusher. Per Fantasy Points Data, Dowdle checked in with a 57% success rate on zone runs last year. Carolina was the seventh-heaviest zone-concept run game. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry on gap runs. The Panthers had the sixth-highest yards per carry on gap runs in 2024.
Jonathon Brooks is likely set to miss all of the 2025 NFL season after re-tearing the same ACL he injured in his final year in college, which caused him to miss most of his rookie season. With Brooks being someone the team couldn’t count on anymore, the Panthers needed a second fiddle, and for the value, Dowdle was the best bet in free agency this year. He played well last season and doesn’t have much mileage at 27 years old.
Fantasy fallout
Hubbard signed a four-year $33.2 million deal while he was balling for the Panthers midway through last season. The coaching staff loves him, and he fits what it wants in the run game so well. He’s still the guy in Carolina and should go off fantasy drafts boards in the top 40 picks.
Dowdle can slice off 30 to 35% of this pie, and Hubbard can retain his standing as a rock-solid RB2 (somewhere in the RB15-17 range). As for the new member of the backfield, given what he showed last season and the quality of this rushing ecosystem, Dowdle may well be one of the top backup running back insurance policies in fantasy next season. He’ll struggle to have standalone value but is still worth draft consideration in the early double-digit rounds.
https://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/article/will-rico-dowdle-leaving-the-cowboys-for-the-panthers-hurt-chuba-hubbards-fantasy-football-value-235019371.html
