Rico Dowdle vs Zonovan Knight: Who Should You Start?
Two running backs who will land on plenty of the same rosters in 2026. Rico Dowdle (Pittsburgh Steelers) finished the 2025 season averaging 11.6 fantasy points per game in 17 games. Zonovan Knight (Arizona Cardinals) came in at 6.8 PPG over 12 games. The gap is real but not insurmountable with the right matchup.
Rico Dowdle carries a 4.8-point PPG advantage from the 2025 season. That baseline matters, but it is one input among several. Matchup difficulty, scoring trends, and injury reports move the needle week to week, which is why the best answer changes depending on when you are asking.
Both profile as early-down workhorses. Rico Dowdle ran for 1076 yards and 6 touchdowns; Zonovan Knight posted 269 and 4. Goal-line share, red zone touches, and which team is favored are usually the tiebreaker when neither back offers passing-game volume.
Rico Dowdle has his bye in Week 9, and Zonovan Knight rests in Week 11. Managers rostering both need waiver wire depth at running back for those two weeks, and that is exactly the kind of planning DraftCall's matchup engine surfaces automatically so you are not scrambling on a Sunday morning.
