Start Blake Corum or Rico Dowdle? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 8:26 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Latest

Oct 21, 5:43 PM ET: Rico Dowdle: Listed Questionable (Knee) (Sleeper injury feed)

Dowdle projects lower, 6.9 to 8.0, and still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player: ADP 76 for Dowdle, 128 for Corum.

Start

Rico Dowdle

RB · PIT · vs CLE

Market projects: 6.9; recent weeks avg
CLE D vs RB: 19.4; 8th fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 60 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 38%; Through Week 7
Target share: 12%; Through Week 7

Sit

Blake Corum

RB · LAR · vs LAC

Market projects: 8.0; recent weeks avg
LAC D vs RB: 23.5; 9th most to RBs (2026)
Upside: High; 91 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 30%; Through Week 7
Target share: 5%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Rico Dowdle for Blake Corum?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Blake Corum projects 66 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (7.3 a game over 9 games), Rico Dowdle 32 (3.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Rico Dowdle over Blake Corum. So make the move after his Week 8 game.

Parlae may earn a commission from price links.

Rico Dowdle rookie cards

Make this call for your own roster

Sync your league and My Team sets this week's lineup for your actual roster, spot by spot. Free, no account.

Sync my league

Sleeper ESPN Yahoo

Or get it by email

Tuesday 7am ET: one email with what moved on the board and who is worth a claim.

Free. One a week, one tap to stop.

Our Week 8 call

Start Rico Dowdle over Blake Corum in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Rico Dowdle at 6.9 points and Blake Corum at 8.0, a gap of 1.1. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Rico Dowdle still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player, ADP 76 against 128, and that outweighs a gap this size. No player market is posted for Rico Dowdle this week yet, so his 6.9 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (8.4, 5.6 and 6.7); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Blake Corum this week yet, so his 8.0 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (6.1, 9.4 and 8.5); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Blake Corum yet. His market-based projections were 6.1, 9.5 and 8.5 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 8.0, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for Blake Corum is 0-1 touchdowns (7 market sources).

No Week 8 player market is posted for Rico Dowdle yet. His market-based projections were 8.4, 5.6 and 6.7 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 6.9, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts Blake Corum 1.1 points ahead of Rico Dowdle on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Blake Corum and LAR host LAC on Sunday at 4:05 PM ET.

LAC allowed 23.5 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 6 games, the 9th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 105 yards and a touchdown a game against LAC and caught passes for 26 more yards.

Rico Dowdle and PIT host CLE on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CLE allowed 19.4 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 7 games, the 8th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 104 yards and 0.6 touchdowns a game against CLE and caught passes for 20 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Blake Corum has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Blake Corum is not on the injury report.

Rico Dowdle is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Blake Corum played 30 percent of LAR snaps, took 36 percent of the carries, drew 5 percent of the targets and had 16 percent of the red zone chances.

Blake Corum, Week 4 against PHI: 13 of 84 snaps, 5 carries for 14 yards, 2 targets and 1 catch for 7 yards.

Blake Corum, Week 5 against BUF: 22 of 82 snaps, 5 carries for 19 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 53 yards, 1 touchdown.

Blake Corum, Week 6 against ARI: 16 of 58 snaps, 9 carries for 42 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 18 yards, 1 touchdown.

Blake Corum, Week 7 against LV: 32 of 72 snaps, 17 carries for 93 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 8 yards, 1 touchdown.

Through Week 7, Rico Dowdle played 38 percent of PIT snaps, took 34 percent of the carries, drew 12 percent of the targets and had 25 percent of the red zone chances.

Rico Dowdle, Week 1 against ATL: 39 of 67 snaps, 8 carries for 15 yards, 5 targets and 2 catches for 6 yards.

Rico Dowdle, Week 2 against NE: 18 of 70 snaps, 7 carries for 22 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 22 yards.

Rico Dowdle, Week 6 against TB: 21 of 79 snaps, 7 carries for 40 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 9 yards.

Rico Dowdle, Week 7 against NO: 28 of 64 snaps, 9 carries for 41 yards, 6 targets and 6 catches for 45 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Blake Corum played 17 games for LAR and scored 122.2 PPR points, 7.2 a game, finishing RB40.

He ran 145 times for 746 yards and 6 touchdowns, and caught 8 of 14 targets for 36 yards.

He was on the field for 29 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Rico Dowdle played 17 games for CAR and scored 216.3 PPR points, 12.7 a game, finishing RB18.

He ran 236 times for 1076 yards and 6 touchdowns, and caught 39 of 50 targets for 297 yards.

He was on the field for 56 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 8 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 8, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Rico Dowdle for Blake Corum?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Blake Corum projects 66 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (7.3 a game over 9 games), Rico Dowdle 32 (3.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Rico Dowdle over Blake Corum. So make the move after his Week 8 game.
Should I drop Blake Corum for Rico Dowdle?
No. Keep Blake Corum: he projects 66 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (7.3 a game over 9 games), Rico Dowdle 32 (3.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Rico Dowdle over Blake Corum.

Should I drop Rico Dowdle?