Rico Dowdle's Cowboys breakout isn't a mirage for fantasy football owners

In Week 4 against the New York Giants, Rico Dowdle had a 15-yard receiving touchdown on his only catch and ran the ball 11 times for 46 yards (4.2-yard average). The Cowboy's running back had an immediate impact on the game, taking a screen play to the house behind solid downfield blocking in the first quarter to give Dallas an early lead. That touchdown was Dowdle's first of the season and sixth of his career.

After playing well against the Giants, Dowdle had an even more impressive Week 5 performance on Sunday Night Football against a hard-nosed Pittsburgh Steelers defense.

The South Carolina product was able to rush for 87 yards on 20 carries (4.3-yard average) and pull in two receptions for 27 yards and a touchdown. Those 20 carries are a season high for Dowdle, who continues to gather a bigger and bigger portion of the offensive snaps.

Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle is blossoming into a fantasy star

Heading into Week 5, the snap share between Ezekiel Elliott and Dowdle was 32% to 45%, respectively. Against the Steelers, that snap share shifted a bit more in the successor's favor with him playing 50% of the offensive snaps compared to Elliott’s 30%.

Elliott is no longer the superstar running back that he used to be, and his loss of snap count percentage shows that. Dowdle has looked much more explosive and productive with his opportunities to this point, and it seems that he is just getting started. The snap share should continue to tilt in Dowdle’s favor as it steadily has all season.

Coming up for Dallas in Week 6 are the Detroit Lions, who have been a decent team against the run in 2024, having allowed just 90 rushing yards per contest to this point. However, Detroit has given up 4.4 yards per carry and allowed five rushing touchdowns through four games played, so the opportunities to produce will be there for Dowdle.

Another major factor impacting the Cowboys' running game has been the offensive line. The group lost two major pieces in LT Tyron Smith (Jets) and C Tyler Biadasz (Commanders) after the conclusion of the 2023 season, but has been showing signs of improvement.

Promising rookies Cooper Beebe and Tyler Guyton have stepped in to fill the vacancies left by Smith and Biadasz, but it will still take some time for the two to gain comfortability and build more chemistry with the rest of the group. The offensive line may not be completely clicking just yet, but many anticipate that this can be a top 10 unit in the NFL as the season rolls on. By fantasy playoff time, expect Dowdle to be running behind a tough, cohesive group.

With the running back position all but locked down, look for Dowdle to continue garnering the lion’s share of carries for Dallas barring injury. He might not be a bona fide must-start player just yet, but it might be time to rethink keeping Dowdle on the bench.

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