Rico Dowdle Scores But Struggles to Find Running Room

By Shane Hallam | Updated on Mon, Nov 10 2025 3:30 AM UTC

Panthers RB Rico Dowdle went 18-53-1 on the ground and caught all three of his targets for 10 yards. He had 84% of backfield touches with Chuba Hubbard getting the other 16%. Despite the large volume, Dowdle struggled to find much running room with his worst yards per carry since Week 2 (2.9).

2025 Fantasy Football Impact

Dowdle not only dominated the touches, but the snaps as well. Hubbard only played 11 snaps to Dowdle’s 42. It’s clear that Dowdle is a must start going forward with this type of volume in the rushing and receiving game.

Unfortunately, the Panthers’ offense just isn’t good enough to guarantee top-5 PPR RB production for Dowdle every week. He still had a solid PPR fantasy day, but it was fueled by the TD.

The Panthers haven’t scored more than 16 points in a game since Week 6. After getting beat up by the Saints, they could be the worst offense in the NFL.

WR Tetairoa McMillan went 5-60-0 on 8 targets, seemingly stuck trying to break through the ceiling of becoming an elite WR. It was another poor outing for QB Bryce Young who only threw for 124 yards and no TDs.

Dowdle has the 26th ranked fantasy RB schedule moving forward with no positive match-ups remaining.

Trust Dowdle going forward, but the rest of the Panthers’ offense certainly can be benched if you have better options.

Shane Hallam, Writer

Shane has over 20 years of experience creating content and playing every fantasy football format, including redraft, dynasty, devy, C2C, IDP, CFF, and more. He is a multi-year winner of $500 dynasty leagues on the FFPC and a King's Classic Champion. Shane utilizes deep film and scheme study to enhance his fantasy performance. He led the industry in 2024 preseason Kicker Rankings and ranked second in preseason QB Rankings. He also ranked eighth in preseason IDP rankings.