Start J.K. Dobbins or Rico Dowdle? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 2:06 PM 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)

Start J.K. Dobbins over Rico Dowdle

Start

J.K. Dobbins

RB · DEN · vs KC

Market projects: 9.3; recent weeks avg
KC D vs RB: 19.5; 9th fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 12 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 41%; Through Week 7
Target share: 5%; Through Week 7

Sit

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

Should I drop Rico Dowdle for J.K. Dobbins?

Yes, on the rest of the season. J.K. Dobbins projects 84 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (9.3 a game over 9 games), Rico Dowdle 32 (3.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts J.K. Dobbins over Rico Dowdle.

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Our Week 8 call

Start J.K. Dobbins over Rico Dowdle in Week 8.

Market-based projections have J.K. Dobbins at 9.3 points and Rico Dowdle at 6.9, a gap of 2.4. No player market is posted for J.K. Dobbins this week yet, so his 9.3 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (8.7, 9.1 and 10.1); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. 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. Drafters take J.K. Dobbins at ADP 90 and Rico Dowdle at 76.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for J.K. Dobbins yet. His market-based projections were 8.7, 9.1 and 10.1 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 9.3, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for J.K. Dobbins 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 J.K. Dobbins 2.4 points ahead of Rico Dowdle on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

J.K. Dobbins and DEN host KC on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

KC allowed 19.5 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 6 games, the 9th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 72 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against KC and caught passes for 37 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, J.K. Dobbins has the softer matchup.

Injury status

J.K. Dobbins is not on the injury report.

Rico Dowdle is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, J.K. Dobbins played 41 percent of DEN snaps, took 52 percent of the carries, drew 5 percent of the targets and had 27 percent of the red zone chances.

J.K. Dobbins, Week 4 against SF: 21 of 65 snaps, 11 carries for 40 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 12 yards.

J.K. Dobbins, Week 5 against LAC: 32 of 62 snaps, 18 carries for 68 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 6 yards, 1 touchdown.

J.K. Dobbins, Week 6 against SEA: 31 of 60 snaps, 17 carries for 41 yards, 3 targets and 3 catches for 5 yards, 1 touchdown.

J.K. Dobbins, Week 7 against ARI: 14 of 61 snaps, 6 carries for 23 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 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, J.K. Dobbins played 10 games for DEN and scored 115.9 PPR points, 11.6 a game, finishing RB43.

He ran 153 times for 772 yards and 4 touchdowns, and caught 11 of 14 targets for 37 yards.

He was on the field for 51 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 J.K. Dobbins?
Yes, on the rest of the season. J.K. Dobbins projects 84 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (9.3 a game over 9 games), Rico Dowdle 32 (3.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts J.K. Dobbins over Rico Dowdle.
Should I drop J.K. Dobbins for Rico Dowdle?
No. Keep J.K. Dobbins: he projects 84 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (9.3 a game over 9 games), Rico Dowdle 32 (3.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts J.K. Dobbins over Rico Dowdle.

Should I drop J.K. Dobbins?Should I drop Rico Dowdle?