Week 7 fantasy football RB start-sit: Dowdle, Mason, Pollard, Wilson

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rico Dowdle is a Week 7 fantasy football start ’em pick against the Saints in Paris, and Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard is a sit ’em pick against the Browns. Jordan Mason is a start against the Colts, and Emanuel Wilson has a tough matchup, with a likely role reduction.

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New Orleans has allowed 28.7 half-PPR points per game to running backs, the most in the NFL, while Cleveland has given up 14.6, the second fewest. Dowdle is my RB27 for Week 7, and Pollard is RB29.

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How did Week 6 picks fare?

Houston Texans running back Woody Marks (4) runs with the ball against the Tennessee Titans | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Only one of last week’s four calls held up, and another was borderline. Texans running back Woody Marks ran 15 times for 56 yards and caught two passes for 25 yards in Houston’s 34-31 win over Jacksonville in London. He finished with 9.1 half-PPR points, making him a solid sit recommendation.

Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten beat the sit call and then some. His rushing total fell flat, but he took off as a pass-catcher. He ran 12 times for 39 yards and caught two touchdown passes, including a 27-yard catch-and-run, and finished with more than 22 half-PPR points.

Both starts missed. Pollard was the borderline call, but didn’t produce enough to justify his start ’em pick. He ran 19 times for 76 yards, solid but not great, without a catch in Tennessee’s 26-20 win at Indianapolis. Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd managed 10 yards on eight carries in a 23-13 win over Dallas.

RB start ’em: Rico Dowdle, Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rico Dowdle (13) runs the ball against the New York Jets | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

• Week 7: at New Orleans (Paris), 28.7 points per game to RBs (32nd)
• Week 6: at Tampa Bay, 7 car. for 40 yds, 3 rec. for 9 yds

Dowdle returned from a dislocated toe that cost him three games. He split work almost evenly with Jaylen Warren until Warren pulled away in the fourth quarter and overtime of Pittsburgh’s 26-19 win at Tampa Bay. The South Carolina product averaged 5.7 yards per carry to Warren’s 3.6, and he out-touched his teammate 2-1 in the red zone. That said, Dowdle isn’t going to overtake Warren as the team’s featured back. This call is just about the juicy matchup and big opportunity for both backs in Week 7.

Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy plans to keep both backs involved. “I think Jaylen’s one of the hottest players in the National Football League as we stand here. And I know what Rico can do. We’re just trying to create opportunities for those guys,” McCarthy said Monday.

That split matters against New Orleans, which has allowed 701 rushing yards and 12 total touchdowns to backs, both league highs. Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr. combined for five rushing touchdowns against the Saints in Week 4. Even as the second back in a timeshare, Dowdle has a clear path to a short touchdown, which makes him a flex play at RB27.

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RB start ’em: Jordan Mason, Vikings

Minnesota Vikings running back Jordan Mason (27) before the game against the Denver Broncos | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

• Week 7: vs. Indianapolis, 22.0 points per game to RBs (26th)
• Week 1: against Green Bay, 15 car. for 59 yds, 1 TD

Minnesota designated Mason to return from injured reserve Monday after thumb surgery kept him out four games. The former 49ers back out-carried Aaron Jones 15-12 in the Week 1 win over Green Bay before the injury.

Jones carried 85 times for 370 yards in four games without Mason. The Vikings planned to rotate the two backs before the injury, and Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said, “I’m excited about what’s coming for us offensively.”

Indianapolis allows 22.0 half-PPR points per game to running backs, the seventh most, along with 271 receiving yards to the position, the third most. The Colts also gave up 26 second-half points in a 26-20 loss to previously winless Tennessee, a collapse that cost general manager Chris Ballard his job.

Mason may not handle a full workload after a month away, but a split backfield against a bottom-10 run defense puts him in RB2 range at RB23.

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RB sit ’em: Tony Pollard, Titans

Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard (20) walks off the field after the game against the Indianapolis Colts | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

• Week 7: vs. Cleveland, 14.6 points per game to RBs (2nd)
• Week 6: at Indianapolis, 19 car. for 76 yds

Pollard took 19 of Tennessee’s 20 running back carries in the win at Indianapolis, while Tyjae Spears played 11 snaps. That volume produced only 7.6 half-PPR points against a defense allowing the seventh-most fantasy points to backs.

The Memphis product has one touchdown and eight catches through six games, averaging 2.2 targets per game, so his production depends on rushing yards and goal-line carries. Cleveland has allowed one rushing touchdown and 107 receiving yards to backs, the third fewest, and enters 4-2 after a 13-10 comeback win over Baltimore.

Titans head coach Robert Saleh has tied his run game’s struggles to trailing late. “Offensively, let’s get a two-score lead, and then see what our run game looks like when we get to close out a game,” Saleh said.

Tennessee trailed 13-0 at halftime last week, and a competitive Browns team could force the same script. That leaves Pollard as a volume-only flex at RB29.

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RB sit ’em: Emanuel Wilson, Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks running back Emanuel Wilson (23) runs the ball against the Los Angeles Chargers | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

• Week 7: vs. Kansas City, 16.2 points per game to RBs (6th)
• Week 6: at Denver, 14 car. for 52 yds

Wilson has led Seattle’s backfield while Zach Charbonnet worked back from a knee injury and rookie Jadarian Price sat on injured reserve. However, the Fort Valley State product has averaged under 4.0 yards per carry in four straight games, including 52 yards on 14 carries in the 17-14 overtime loss at Denver. The Broncos entered that game allowing 4.7 yards per carry.

Charbonnet is now on track to debut Sunday night. “There is a possibility that you can see him on Sunday in some capacity,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said Monday. Price isn’t eligible to return until Week 8, but even a limited role for Charbonnet takes carries away from Wilson.

Kansas City has allowed 16.2 half-PPR points per game to backs and 323 rushing yards in five games, the third fewest. Fewer carries against one of the league’s stingiest run defenses drop Wilson to RB31, outside flex consideration.

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