The Dallas Cowboys are coming off a huge 49-17 win over the Giants in Week 10 as running back Rico Dowdle put in his best fantasy performance of the season thus far. Will he be worth a start in Week 11 as the Cowboys head on the road to take on the Carolina Panthers?
Fantasy Football analysis: Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle
Dowdle had a game full of season-highs with 12 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown on the day. It’s the first time he’s found the end zone on the ground, and he brought in 13.9 fantasy points in both PPR and standard leagues. He didn’t see a single target, so PPR scoring didn’t give the 25-year-old any extra points. He only played 28% of snaps against the Giants but he was super efficient with the carries he was given.
Start or sit in Week 11 PPR leagues?
Sit. Dowdle hasn’t been too involved in the passing game this season, although his first touchdown came off a pass back in Week 3, where he saw a season-high three targets and caught all three of them. Since then, he’s only seen four targets overall, so his ceiling in PPR leagues really isn’t higher than standard leagues. He’ll have a favorable matchup against the Panthers, who have seen some struggles with their run defense this season. Still, he sits behind Tony Pollard on the depth chart, so there’s no guarantee he’ll be seeing enough volume to make him worth a start. Grab him off waivers, but stash him on your bench.
Start or sit in Week 11 standard leagues?
Sit. I would still say pick Dowdle up for a bench spot but don’t slot him into your starting lineup quite yet unless you’re really hard up for a running back. Pollard hasn’t turned in double-digit fantasy points since Week 6, and Dallas has been focusing more on the pass offense anyway. Dowdle hasn’t been consistent enough to warrant a start but if Pollard ever goes down, he might jump up into RB2 territory.
Player(s) you would start ahead of Rico Dowdle
Dowdle is the RB40 on the FantasyPros PPR rankings ahead of Week 11, leaving plenty of options that could be more beneficial in your lineup. A couple of names I’d start ahead of Dowdle would be Gus Edwards, Antonio Gibson, or Royce Freeman. All three of those guys are in RB3 territory but should have relatively favorable matchups of their own.