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Davis Mattek fantasy football takes on Rico Dowdle
Every source-backed video insight STACKED has extracted from Davis Mattek about Rico Dowdle.
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Insight ledger
All Davis Mattek insights about Rico Dowdle
PositiveUsageSep 10, 2026
Davis Mattek favors Rico Dowdle over Jaylen Warren for Week 1, citing reports that Dowdle may handle lead rushing and goal-line duties in a game where Pittsburgh is expected to lead.NegativeValueMay 8, 2026
Davis Mattek selects Rico Dowdle as running back one for a zero RB team build, preferring him to Kalen Ballage. Mattek frames Dowdle as the exact profile desired for zero RB strategy: an ambiguous backfield with RB1 upside. While Dowdle played into and then out of RB1 duty last year due to passing-down inefficiency versus Kenny Gainwell, Mattek projects him as at worst a running back two-ish style player who hits flex rooms in best ball if he scores a touchdown. Dowdle also has a pre-existing relationship with Mike McCarthy from their Dallas time together. However, Mattek later flags Rodriguez as overpriced relative to Bijan Robinson, stating he would love if their prices were flipped, suggesting Dowdle's backfield mate Rodriguez may be overvalued at current ADP.NegativeDepth ChartNo date
Rico Dowdle and Jaylen Warren are both handling all first-team running back work for the Pittsburgh Steelers with alternating touches; the split appears relatively equal, with Dowdle getting the first touch today and Warren yesterday, suggesting neither has differentiated yet and the workload will remain split until one emerges.NegativeValueNo date
Davis Mattek selected Rico Dowdle at basically average draft position to address running back depth. Dowdle is part of a common permutation with Trevor Lawrence, and Mattek notes that the combinatorial ownership of Lawrence and Dowdle will be relatively high as part of standard draft patterns. Mattek also drafted Dowdle as part of his best ball running back group alongside Javonte Williams, Treyvion Henderson, and Jordan Mason.