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Should I start Rico Dowdle, Michael Carter, Hassan Haskins for Week 6? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
By the very nature of the position, running backs take a lot of hits each year. As a result, the position tends to be a place with plenty of turnover during an NFL season. As starters go down with injuries, other options emerge as strong plays and can contribute good numbers for your fantasy football team, even though they started the season as backups or even on the practice squad.
In this post, we'll take a look at three of those options who are stepping into larger roles this season to see if they should be in fantasy managers' starting lineups for Week 6. Rico Dowdle of the Carolina Panthers, Michael Carter of the Arizona Cardinals, and Hassan Haskins of the Los Angeles Chargers are all expected to be involved this week, and they all bring good upside in their respective offenses.
So, should fantasy managers start Dowdle, Carter, and Haskins in Week 6? Let's see where they fit in the ever-changing landscape of running backs and find out where and how they make sense to play this week.
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Should I Start Rico Dowdle for Fantasy Football?
Last week, Rico Dowdle had an absolutely monster game for the Panthers while filling in for Chuba Hubbard (calf). He was the top fantasy performer of the entire week by racking up 206 rushing yards and a touchdown on his 23 carries and tacking on three catches for 28 more yards.
He showed how dominant he can be as a featured back, and he'll get another chance to shine in Week 6 since Hubbard will miss a second straight week.
This week's matchup should be an even better one for Dowdle, since he'll be facing the Cowboys. Dowdle played the first four years of his career in Dallas before joining the Panthers this offseason. He's fired up to face his former squad as well:
"They gotta buckle up"
Rico Dowdle's comments about facing the Cowboys on Sunday. He had played his entire NFL career in Dallas before coming to Carolina this season
206 yds + 1 TD for Dowdle against the Dolphins yesterday
(📹: @Ellagrogan27) pic.twitter.com/UyGXVwPDRf
— Caroline Soro (@caroline_soro) October 6, 2025
Aside from any personal beef that gives him extra motivation, the Cowboys are also a great matchup for running backs in general. In five games, they have allowed five running back touchdowns and an average of 91.4 rushing yards and 59.8 receiving yards per game to the position.
We've seen how dominant Dowdle can be, and it's definitely set up for another monster game from him this week. In RotoBaller's rankings, Dowdle is the RB12 this week, but he drips with RB1 potential in what should be a smash spot this Sunday. Unless it's a strangely formatted shallow league, Dowdle should be started just about everywhere this week.
Should I Start Michael Carter for Fantasy Football?
The Cardinals lost the top two running backs on their depth chart this season, with James Conner (foot) lost for the season in Week 3 and Trey Benson (knee) landing on IR after a Week 4 knee injury. Carter jumped from the practice squad to the starting running back role last week, and he had a solid game while dominating the timeshare in the backfield.
Carter had a 58% snap share and 49% route participation in Week 5 and racked up 23 total touches compared to just eight combined touches for Emari Demercado and Bam Knight. Demercado had a huge play but also a brutal fumble that cost his team the game when he let go of the ball before he got to the goal line against the Titans. Based on his coach's admittedly over-the-top reaction, his fumble probably won't earn him more playing time.
Carter's touchdown came on a short run early in the game, and he still had a solid game, even though he lost rushing touchdowns to Knight and Kyler Murray. If he gets more goal-line work and a similar timeshare, he'll be a solid starter in Week 6.
Michael Carter powers it in for six points 💪
TENvsAZ on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/2N8AomuLUN
— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2025
The Cardinals are on the road against the Colts for their Week 6 matchup, as they look to bounce back from their brutal late loss to the Titans. Indy has been solid against the run this season, but it has allowed 98 rushing yards and 89 rushing yards to the position in the last two weeks.
Carter is the RB23 in RotoBaller's Week 6 rankings, making him a fringe RB2 or a strong flex play. He doesn't have nearly the ceiling that Dowdle brings, but he can be a solid starter if you're searching for running back help.
Should I Start Hassan Haskins for Fantasy Football?
Like the Cardinals, the Chargers are missing both of the two backs they thought would be platooning to carry the load this season. Najee Harris (Achilles) is out for the year, while Omarion Hampton (ankle) landed on IR this week. While we don't have a full week of data since the injuries like we do with the Cardinals, it looks like the Chargers will rotate Hassan Haskins and Kimani Vidal in the backfield.
Haskins was the team's third running back on the active roster coming into the year, while Vidal has been promoted from the practice squad for a few games this season and was signed to the active roster this week.
Of the two backs, Haskins is more of an early down and every-down option, while Vidal is more of a third-down, pass-catching specialist who brings big-play potential. Of the two, Haskins makes a slightly better play this week since it looks like he'll be first up for carries.
If the game script has the Chargers playing from ahead, Haskins could end up dominating the workload. Last week, though, both backs played exactly 14 snaps, so we could have a pretty even timeshare if the score is close or the Chargers are rallying from behind.
Haskins is a former Michigan Wolverine who joined the Chargers after head coach Jim Harbaugh took over. He's definitely a "Harbaugh guy" and could end up getting more work if he has a good start.
Jim Harbaugh on Chargers RB Hassan Haskins:
“Whenever you need a big run, Hassan’s just right there waiting to give it to you. Love the way he plays and runs the ball.” pic.twitter.com/ak1s4eXNVT
— Clayton Sayfie (@CSayf23) August 11, 2025
If you won your waiver claim on Haskins earlier this week, the matchup against the Dolphins is a juicy one to consider playing him in. Last week, Dowdle went off on them, and for the season, they have been the seventh-best matchups for running backs. They have allowed an average of 133.6 rushing yards and 49.4 receiving yards per game to the position.
Haskins is the RB31 in our RotoBaller rankings for Week 6, so he's a reach in a flex spot in standard-sized leagues, but he is definitely a viable option if you need a solution from the waiver wire. He has a very high ceiling based on what Dowdle did last week, but he also has a very low floor since his timeshare is uncertain.
Who Should I Start Tool
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 6 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Rico Dowdle, Michael Carter, Hassan Haskins. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 6. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 6 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 6 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Rico Dowdle, Michael Carter, Hassan Haskins. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 6.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool, but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our Who Should I Start? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 6 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 6 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 6 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 6 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Rico Dowdle, Michael Carter, Hassan Haskins compared to others:
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