Week 10 Guillotine Leagues™ Rankings For Startups: Rico Dowdle, Brock Bowers, and More
Matt LaMarca highlights a few players who have moved up or down in Guillotine Leagues rankings entering Week 10 of the NFL season.
The fantasy football landscape is always changing. More and more injuries pop up on a weekly basis, while player production can fluctuate wildly. Guys who were viewed as preseason stars might not even be worth rostering at this point, while guys who were afterthoughts are extremely relevant.
The good news is that new Guillotine Leagues™ are forming every single week. Let’s dive into a few players who have moved up and down the rankings heading into NFL Week 10.
Rico Dowdle – Moves Into RB1 Territory?
I’ll be completely honest, I did not see that performance coming. I was extremely skeptical about Rico Dowdle’s matchup vs. the Packers in Week 9. They were nearly two-touchdown underdogs, and Dowdle has not handled a ton of receiving opportunities this season. If the Packers were able to pull away, it seemed reasonable that Dowdle would lose some snaps to Chuba Hubbard.
Turns out, both of those concerns were unfounded.
Dowdle was announced as the Panthers’ new RB1 heading into Week 9, and he responded with a bell-cow workload. He played on 74% of the team’s offensive snaps and handled 80% of their rushing attempts, both of which were his best marks in a game with Hubbard active. He also saw significantly more work than usual as a pass-catcher, with his 17% target share representing his second-best mark of the year.
With more consistent opportunities, Dowdle has the potential to be a top-10 option at the position for the rest of the year. He’s been extremely efficient this season, averaging 5.6 yards per carry, and running the ball is the one thing the Panthers’ offense does pretty well. They’re ninth in ESPN’s Run Block Win Rate, and they’ve been the third-best run-blocking squad per PFF.
Dowdle is up to the No. 34 spot in our Consensus Rest-of-Season rankings, and there’s a chance that’s still too pessimistic. In his three starts this season, Dowdle has finished as RB1, RB2, and RB2 in PPR scoring. The sky is the limit.
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Brock Bowers – Unleash the Beast
It’s been a bit of a lost season for Brock Bowers. He was unstoppable as a rookie, racking up 112 catches, 1,194 yards, and five touchdowns for an otherwise underwhelming offense. Unfortunately, he’s been banged up for most of the year. He dealt with injuries through his first four games before sitting out the next three.
Bowers returned to the lineup following the Raiders’ Week 8 bye, and it appears all that rest did him a world of good. He put together a monster performance vs. the Jaguars, finishing with 13 targets, 12 receptions, 127 receiving yards, and three touchdowns. His 43.3 PPR points were not just the most by a tight end this season; it was the at the position since Darren Waller in 2020. Before that, you’d have to go all the way back to Shannon Sharpe in 2002 to find a TE with more PPR points.
Bowers’ utilization in that contest was elite. He had a 34% target share and 55% air yards share, both of which are more consistent with a top-flight receiver than a tight end.
Things have only gotten better for Bowers since then. The team traded away Jakobi Meyers, leaving Bowers with even less competition for targets than before. If he’s truly healthy at this point, he could be an absolute monster down the stretch.
Brian Thomas Jr. – Saying Goodbye is Hard
Brian Thomas looked like he was going to be the next great LSU receiver, joining the likes of Odell Beckham, Justin Jefferson, and Ja’Marr Chase. That’s how good his rookie season was. He had 87 catches, 1,282 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns, and only two other rookies in NFL history have had at least 80 catches, 1,200 receiving yards, and 10 scores.
Unfortunately, Thomas simply hasn’t looked like the same player this year. His numbers are way down across the board, and his effort has frequently been called into question. The Jaguars have been better as a whole, but Thomas has been significantly worse. He’s merely WR39 in terms of PPR scoring, and he’s had just one finish inside the top 30 at the position all season.
Now, Thomas is dealing with a shoulder injury that he sustained vs. the Raiders. It remains to be seen if he’ll be able to suit up in Week 10, but the fact that the Jaguars traded for Meyers isn’t exactly encouraging.
In standard remaining Guillotine Leagues—and new ones that are just forming—there are only going to be a maximum of nine teams. With 14 roster spots per team, that means 126 players will be rostered. Does Thomas deserve to be one of them? That may seem crazy based on how he was viewed before the start of the season, but his production hasn’t warranted a roster spot. He’s down to the No. 144 spot in our consensus ROS rankings, and John Lagezza has him barely inside the top 200.
Romeo Doubs – The Best Ability Is Availability
Romeo Doubs is frequently overlooked in fantasy leagues. He doesn’t possess the big-play upside of Christian Watson or the draft capital of Matthew Golden. He lacks the versatile skill set of Jayden Reed. He’s not nearly the same threat from a touchdown standpoint as Tucker Kraft.
But you know what Doubs is? He’s healthy, and that’s half the battle in the NFL. Kraft went down with a devastating injury in Week 9, so his season is officially over. Golden also exited last week early, while Reed has been out of the lineup for most of the year. It leaves Doubs as the de facto No. 1 option in a passing attack that is getting thinner by the day.
Doubs is coming off a 29% target share in Week 9, and he’s been at 29% or greater in three of his past four games. He’s yet to post a truly monster performance over that time frame, but he’s provided a steady, reliable floor.
Guys like Doubs who aren’t “End Game” players eventually have an expiration date, but he still has more than a few good weeks left in him. Green Bay has already had its bye week, which is another major plus. Ultimately, he’s the type of player who can help you get to the finish line, even if he doesn’t necessarily cross it for you.
Kyler Murray – The End of an Era?
Kyler Murray and the Cardinals feel destined for a breakup. Week 9 served as a bit of a trial separation. Murray ended up being inactive, but it seemed throughout the week that he was going to be the backup regardless. Jacoby Brissett has played well in his stead, and he only improved his standing in the eyes of his coaches with his performance vs. the Cowboys. He racked up 261 yards and two passing touchdowns, and he added a third on the ground. He also helped the team snap a five-game losing streak.
At this point, it’s hard to imagine Murray getting his job back. Even if he does, is he someone that you want to start? He’s yet to finish inside the top 16 at the position in any week this season, so the risk far outweighs the reward. With only nine starting QBs left in Guillotine Leagues (at most), Murray is simply waiver wire fodder moving forward.
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