Start Rico Dowdle or Braelon Allen? Week 7

Updated Oct 20, 4:21 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Early kickoff: 9:30 AM ET in Paris, set your lineup before then.

Dowdle projects lower, 8.0 to 13.3, and still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player: ADP 76 for Dowdle, 180 for Allen.

Start

Rico Dowdle

RB · PIT · at NO

Market projects: 8.0; fantasy pts
NO D vs RB: 29.7; most to RBs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 81 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 36%; Through Week 6
Target share: 9%; Through Week 6

Sit

Braelon Allen

RB · NYJ · vs MIA

Market projects: 13.3; recent weeks avg
MIA D vs RB: 26.1; 4th most to RBs (2026)
Upside: High; 89 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 61%; Through Week 6
Target share: 8%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Rico Dowdle for Braelon Allen?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Braelon Allen projects 141 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (14.1 a game over 10 games), Rico Dowdle 30 (3.0 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Rico Dowdle over Braelon Allen. So make the move after his Week 7 game.

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Rico Dowdle rookie cards Braelon Allen rookie cards

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Our Week 7 call

Start Rico Dowdle over Braelon Allen in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Rico Dowdle at 8.0 points and Braelon Allen at 13.3, a gap of 5.3. Rico Dowdle still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player, ADP 76 against 180, and that outweighs a gap this size. No player market is posted for Braelon Allen this week yet, so his 13.3 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4, 5 and 6 (11.1, 14.9 and 13.8); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 7 player market is posted for Braelon Allen yet. His market-based projections were 11.1, 14.9 and 13.8 points in Weeks 4, 5 and 6, an average of 13.3, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

Player markets imply 8.0 fantasy points for Rico Dowdle, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Rico Dowdle is 34 rushing yards, 11 receiving yards, 1-2 receptions and 0.3 touchdowns (12, 10, 11 and 13 market sources).

That puts Braelon Allen 5.3 points ahead of Rico Dowdle on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

Braelon Allen and NYJ host MIA on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

MIA allowed 26.1 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 5 games, the 4th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 101 yards and 0.6 touchdowns a game against MIA and caught passes for 39 more yards.

Rico Dowdle and PIT visit NO on Sunday at 9:30 AM ET.

NO allowed 29.7 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 6 games, the most in the league.

Running backs ran for 117 yards and 1.8 touchdowns a game against NO and caught passes for 31 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Rico Dowdle has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Braelon Allen is not on the injury report.

Rico Dowdle is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Braelon Allen played 61 percent of NYJ snaps, took 49 percent of the carries, drew 8 percent of the targets and had 29 percent of the red zone chances.

Braelon Allen, Week 3 against DET: 34 of 66 snaps, 4 carries for 14 yards, 3 targets and 3 catches for 3 yards.

Braelon Allen, Week 4 against CHI: 30 of 32 snaps, 14 carries for 59 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 8 yards.

Braelon Allen, Week 5 against CLE: 60 of 70 snaps, 24 carries for 116 yards, 4 targets and 1 catch for 0 yards, 1 touchdown.

Braelon Allen, Week 6 against NE: 54 of 62 snaps, 17 carries for 78 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 26 yards.

Through Week 6, Rico Dowdle played 36 percent of PIT snaps, took 35 percent of the carries, drew 9 percent of the targets and had 19 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.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Braelon Allen played 4 games for NYJ and scored 15.3 PPR points, 3.8 a game, finishing RB100.

He ran 18 times for 76 yards and 1 touchdown, and caught 2 of 3 targets for 17 yards.

He was on the field for 24 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 7 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 7, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Rico Dowdle for Braelon Allen?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Braelon Allen projects 141 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (14.1 a game over 10 games), Rico Dowdle 30 (3.0 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Rico Dowdle over Braelon Allen. So make the move after his Week 7 game.
Should I drop Braelon Allen for Rico Dowdle?
No. Keep Braelon Allen: he projects 141 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (14.1 a game over 10 games), Rico Dowdle 30 (3.0 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Rico Dowdle over Braelon Allen.