Week 6 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Debate: Michael Carter vs. Rico Dowdle
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The waiver wire is a weekly winner. If you make just one good pickup and he exceeds value, you have knocked a home run. This season that may have been Geno Smith, Kenneth Gainwell, or Tyquan Thornton. This week, Michael Carter and Rico Dowdle will be hot commodities. Who is the better option to pick up? We will discuss and determine that decision today.
Rico Dowdle
Chuba Hubbard missed Week 5 due to a calf injury and Dowdle took the reigns a breezed to success. Dowdle ran for over 200 yards on the ground and racked up multiple touchdowns. Given that performance, one must now wonder how involved he will maintain to be with Hubbard back.
Hubbard is hopeful to return in Week 6. If he does, Dowdle falls back down into a minority role. One game will not flip the script in Carolina. You can expect Dowdle to meet a snap-share of 35-40%. He does have some minor pass-catching ability. Be sure to explore this pickup, but if Hubbard plays, Dowdle should not be start able. He is more of an upside handcuff than a startable RB2 in Carolina.
Michael Carter
This Cardinals backfield was hard to telegraph ahead of Week 5. Without Trey Benson, it was said that this backfield would be a split, favoring the hot hand. Well, for Carter, he was that hot hand. Emari Demercado ran the ball for 76 yards then fumbled on the 1-yard line. That is a death-wish and now Carter should be the majority back until Benson is back.
AGAIN. #Cardinals RB Emari Demercado just had a 76-yard TD — but he let go of the ball before crossing the goal line, and it’s a touchback.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 5, 2025
HOW DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!
pic.twitter.com/EstLI9R4jW
Bam Knight will likely be more of a threat than Demercado, but Carter is the leadback. Expect him to have a share anywhere from 50-to-70%. The Cardinals are a run-first team, so this role surely has great value. Carter did score on 18 carries in Week 5.
Waiver Wire: Rico Dowdle or Michael Carter
This decision quite clear. The pickup priority should definitely be Michael Carter. Benson will be out multiple weeks so until then, Carter is a solid RB2 in fantasy football. In a run-first offense, he is a must-start.
As for Dowdle, you are banking on him to start. That will unlikely be the case with Hubbard already due back to the lineup. Dowdle has much better handcuff value than Carter, but in the immediate, you must go with Carter. How much value can you really have with a backup? Carter is at least the locked-in starter right now. Dowdle, you are hoping to start again and are really optimistic that he does what he did in Week 5, and that is unlikely repeatable.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.