Should I start Jonathon Brooks or Rico Dowdle in Week 9?
Updated Nov 3, 6:26 AM ET. Week 10 answers post Tuesday.
Start Rico Dowdle: 31 percent of the snaps and 32 percent of the carries over their last 3 games, against Jonathon Brooks's 25 percent of the snaps and 21 percent of the carries. No market projection is posted on either of them this week, so this is a usage call, and a lower confidence one than a call made on a projection. What follows is what each of them has done.
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Your next move
More fantasy football tools and rankings, all built from the same board.
Neither man carries a season projection right now, so this is their usage this season and their last full season's numbers, side by side.
RB · CAR · bye 5
- Overall rank
- 265
RB · PIT · on bye this week
2026 vs carries line 3-2
- Market-based projection
- 9.0 pts a game Wk 8 price
- Overall rank
- 269
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The gap
- Board size297 draftable players
Draft data is not current for these two, so the figures that depend on it are left out. The call above comes from each player's usage.
Where the draft room stands
Live drafts hold no current pick on Jonathon Brooks, and the board ranks him 265th overall on the rest of his evidence.
Live drafts hold no current pick on Rico Dowdle, and the board ranks him 269th overall on the rest of his evidence.
The market-based projections
No season market is posted for Jonathon Brooks, so the only market valuing him on this page is the draft room.
No season market is posted for Rico Dowdle, so the only market valuing him on this page is the draft room.
Neither carries a posted market, so this page rests on the draft room and on what the two have already done.
This season so far
Through Week 2, Jonathon Brooks has been on the field for 25 percent of CAR snaps, taken 21 percent of the carries, drawn 5 percent of the targets and had 13 percent of the red zone chances.
He has taken 1 of the offence's 15 third down targets, had 0 of its 7 chances inside the five and seen 0 of its 7 two minute targets.
His 3 targets have averaged 8.0 air yards.
In Week 1 against CHI he carried 4 times for 14 yards, caught 1 of 2 targets for 48 yards and did not score.
In Week 2 against ATL he carried 5 times for 16 yards, caught 1 of 1 target for -5 yards and did not score.
Through Week 8, Rico Dowdle has been on the field for 38 percent of PIT snaps, taken 37 percent of the carries, drawn 10 percent of the targets and had 27 percent of the red zone chances.
He has taken 1 of the offence's 39 third down targets, had 1 of its 10 chances inside the five and seen 2 of its 27 two minute targets.
His 17 targets have come 0.6 yards behind the line of scrimmage on average.
In Week 6 against TB he carried 7 times for 40 yards, caught 3 of 4 targets for 9 yards and did not score.
In Week 7 against NO he carried 9 times for 41 yards, caught 6 of 6 targets for 45 yards and did not score.
In Week 8 against CLE he carried 15 times for 56 yards and scored 1 touchdown.
Their 2025 seasons
The season feed carries no line for Jonathon Brooks in the last completed season.
In 2025 Rico Dowdle played 17 games and scored 216.3 PPR points, 12.7 a game, finishing RB18.
He carried 236 times for 1076 yards and 6 touchdowns, and caught 39 of 50 targets for 297 more yards.
That came to 13.9 carries a game at 4.6 yards a carry and 2.3 catches a game.
He was on the field for 56 percent of the snaps in the games he played.
Head to head
This season Rico Dowdle holds the bigger snap share, 38 percent against 25 percent.
This season Rico Dowdle holds the bigger share of the carries, 37 percent against 21 percent.
Byes and availability
Jonathon Brooks is off in Week 5 and Rico Dowdle in Week 9, so either can cover the other's bye.
Jonathon Brooks is listed as ir on the injury report.
Both players in full
Week 9 on the board
- Is Jonathon Brooks playing Week 9?
- Is Rico Dowdle playing Week 9?
- Panthers depth chart
- Steelers depth chart
- Week 9 RB rankings
- Week 9 fantasy rankings
- Week 9 start or sit
- Week 9 waiver wire
- Week 9 trade value chart
- Trade deadline buy low, sell high
- Fantasy football rankings
- Start 'em sit 'em Week 9
- Waiver wire pickups
- Fantasy sleepers
- Rest of season rankings
- Week 9 kicker rankings
- Week 9 defense rankings
