The Carolina Panthers have gotten on a little bit of a roll lately, winning three straight games over the Dolphins, Cowboys and Jets. This week, they’ll face a tougher test, though, as they host the Buffalo Bills. They’ll probably have to circle the wagons without starting QB Bryce Young (ankle), and one way they could do that is to lean heavily on their running game. The team has two solid and productive running backs in Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard, but which one makes the better fantasy option? Or are both viable plays?
Both backs have had good games and shown high ceilings, so there’s potential for a big game from either player. Let’s take a closer look at the fantasy football outlook for each option.
Rico Dowdle fantasy football outlook
Dowdle was brought in as a free agent this offseason and was expected to rotate in behind Hubbard as a change-of-pace and depth option. That was his role for the first four weeks of the season, getting around 30% to 40% of snaps and a few carries each game.
When Hubbard re-injured his calf, though, Dowdle got a chance to start for two games. With more work and responsibility, the sixth-year back went crazy with 206 rushing yards and 35.4 fantasy points against the Dolphins in Week 5. He had a great encore the next week against his former team, the Cowboys, racking up 36.9 fantasy points by taking 30 carries for 183 rushing yards and adding four catches for 56 more yards.
When Hubbard returned in Week 7 against the Jets, Dowdle still stayed involved. He played 33 snaps (46%) and had 17 carries for 79 yards and two catches for 17 yards. Obviously, his volume dropped significantly, but he still had nearly 100 all rushing and receiving yards. He just lacked the touchdown to cap off the day.
Even if he’s playing only around 50% of snaps, Dowdle has enough upside to be a flex consideration with RB2 upside, and if he keeps the hot hand, he could pull in even more work as weeks go on. Hubbard has been injury-prone throughout his career, and if he goes down again, Dowdle would be a locked-in RB2 with RB1 upside.
Chuba Hubbard fantasy football outlook
Hubbard started the season strong with 17.9 and 18.7 fantasy points in the first two weeks. He had a receiving touchdown in each of those games and has proven he can be productive as a receiver out of the backfield.
After missing the two weeks, he returned in Week 7 and played 38 snaps (54%), just slightly more than Dowdle, but Dowdle had more carries and catches. Hubbard produced just 31 yards on 14 carries and 24 yards on two catches. He got the start and played the entire first possession before alternating series with Dowdle the rest of the way.
At least for now, it looks like he’ll maintain an even split or nearly an even split with Dowdle, which should make him flex-relevant as well, especially through the bye weeks.
Of the two, Hubbard has less current value than Dowdle for sure, but he does have the potential to regain more of the timeshare as the season goes on. He’s definitely still a hold at this point, even though he’s hard to start until he finds his rhythm again.
The Bottom Line
The Bills have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to running backs this season, allowing 116 rushing yards per game and a total of eight running back touchdowns in six games.
With six teams on a bye this week, I have Dowdle as the No. 17 RB and Hubbard as my No. 25 RB in my weekly rankings. Both are startable for sure in this matchup but neither is a must-play since they make each other riskier plays.
In DFS contests like DraftKings NFL $2.75M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st], Hubbard could be a good value at only $5,300. He’s high-risk, though, since he hasn’t been as productive this season.
Dowdle also brings a high ceiling at $6,300, but he’s risky because of the timeshare. Both backs bring good ceilings but there are plenty of risk factors to consider as you build your Week 8 rosters. If you have both or can afford both, Dowdle is the better play for now.
