Hubbard ($5,800) has missed the past two games with a calf injury, but the back returned to practice Wednesday—per Panthers.com’s Darin Gannt—which bodes well for Hubbard’s chances of playing this Sunday vs. the Jets.
With Hubbard inactive the past two weeks, Dowdle ($6,800) has been simply incredible as the Panthers’ lead back and many are very curious about Dowdle’s role when Hubbard returns, given how well Dowdle has played with Hubbard sidelined.
In these past two games without Hubbard, Dowdle has produced 234 scrimmage yards and a touchdown vs. the Dolphins and 239 scrimmage yards and a touchdown vs. the Cowboys.
By 100 yards, Dowdle is the NFL’s leading rusher over the last two weeks and during this time, he is the No.1 scoring player in fantasy football at with a jaw dropping 36.2 FPTS per game. With Hubbard sidelined, Dowdle is leading the league with 26.5 carries per game – which is 86.9% of the Panthers’ running back carries – while logging 77.8% of the snaps. The veteran is also handling an 18.8% target share, while running a route on 61% of his team’s dropbacks.
However, with Hubbard active for the first four games of the season, Dowdle saw a much smaller role, as the No. 2 back behind Hubbard. In these tilts, Dowdle averaged just seven carries per game and a 31.4% rush share while logging 35.1% of the snaps. Meanwhile, Hubbard saw 13.3 carries per game and a 59.6% rush share while logging 64.1% of the snaps.
Dowdle clearly was behind Hubbard to begin the season, but given Dowdle’s brilliant play over the last two weeks, which has helped Carolina pick up two wins during this stretch, Dowdle and Hubbard have likely swap places in the Panthers’ running back room and the more effective Dowdle should see more work than Hubbard going forward, especially in latter’s first game back after the calf injury.
Among running backs this season, Dowdle ranks third in YPC (5.8), while Hubbard ranks 30th (4.1). Fantasy wise, Dowdle ranks eighth in FPTS per snap among running backs (0.46), whereas Hubbard ranks 33rd (0.32).
If Hubbard suits up this Sunday vs. the Jets, this will likely be 60/40 split in favor of Dowdle and he should be in line for 15-20 touches. New York has been an average rush defense this season, giving up the 15th-fewest yards (4.3), but Dowdle still has a ceiling around 20 FPTS given his excellent efficiency, making him a must-start for all season-long leagues.
