Rico Dowdle
Pittsburgh Steelers·#5Model Score
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
Season Stats · 17 games
Advanced Metrics EPA & Next Gen Stats
STM Take
Dowdle's 2025 line at STTM #17 tier 5 (up from #24 tier 6 in 2024) is the climb of a journeyman finally getting starter touches. The career arc reads tier 8, tier 6, tier 5: slow positive trajectory built almost entirely on workload rather than efficiency. The Carolina year-one move worked; the Pittsburgh move re-tests it.
Dowdle was born in Gaffney, South Carolina, played four injury-shortened years at South Carolina (finishing 15th on the school's all-time rushing list with 2,167 yards), and went undrafted in 2020. He spent five years with the Cowboys, signed with Carolina in 2025, and was traded to Pittsburgh for 2026.
Strengths
- Three straight years of rank improvement (#37 → #24 → #17), the kind of steady positive arc rare for an undrafted RB.
- 95 career receptions for 690 yards adds a pass-game floor; the role transferred through three teams.
Concerns
- 4.5 career YPC on 2,540 yards is mid-pack; the case lives on workload, not efficiency.
- Recent game log peaks at 15 PPR with multiple sub-5 PPR weeks; the floor games come often.
What to watch: Whether Pittsburgh's depth chart gives him true RB1 carries or splits with their other backs.
Fantasy Outlook
Rico Dowdle scored 218 PPR points, 12.8 per game this season. Compare him against any RB and track weekly rankings in our fantasy tools.