Running backs often swing fantasy football leagues, and Week 1 is already full of intrigue.
Dylan Sampson, Ollie Gordon II, and Rico Dowdle each enter the season with opportunity knocking.
Whether through injuries, depth chart shifts, or sheer talent, these backs could pop early.
If you’re hunting waiver wire gems, this trio demands close attention.
Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns
Rostered: 40%
With Quinshon Judkins, who is yet to sign his rookie deal, likely not playing this season, the Cleveland Browns head into Week 1 with rookie Dylan Sampson and veteran Jerome Ford atop the depth chart. If preseason usage is any indication, they will form a near-even timeshare.
Sampson already looks like the better back, and he’s the one the team drafted after Ford only returned to the team after agreeing to take a pay cut.
Split carries are likely early, but Sampson’s pop and power stand out behind Cleveland’s strong offensive line. He’s already carving out high-value red zone work, and an early touchdown would make him a candidate to be next week’s top pickup.
Ollie Gordon II, Miami Dolphins
Rostered: 40%
Jaylen Wright was set to enter the season as the RB2 behind De’Von Achane. Unfortunately, he’s currently sidelined with an injury. That opened the door for rookie Ollie Gordon II to earn a heavy workload in the Miami Dolphins’ final preseason game. He carried the ball eight times for 54 yards.
no RB forced me to adjust my priors more this preseason than Ollie Gordon II
(probably his own team, too) pic.twitter.com/53T9HeReJG
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) August 25, 2025
Achane is set to play in Week 1, but has been nursing a calf strain. If he suffers a setback or aggravates the injury, we can be reasonably confident Gordon will be the main back. Even if Achane remains healthy, Week 1 will likely establish that Gordon is the handcuff to grab in your leagues. He needs to be more heavily rostered.
Rico Dowdle, Carolina Panthers
Rostered: 21%
Last season, it was hard to fathom that the Dallas Cowboys would commit to Rico Dowdle as a key backfield member. By the second half of the season, he was on the field for roughly 70% of the snaps.
Using preseason playing time as a definitive indicator of what might happen in the regular season is risky. With that said, we consistently saw Dowdle enter the game for Chuba Hubbard on third down.
Hubbard was incredibly inefficient as a pass catcher last season. Meanwhile, Dowdle averaged 1.59 yards per route run, 18th in the league. That seems to be the role the Panthers envision for their new RB2.
Dowdle appears firmly ahead of Trevor Etienne on the depth chart. He could have some standalone RB4 value, but the real upside stems from him being the Hubbard handcuff. If this ends up being more of a timeshare than we think, Dowdle will be a very popular waiver wire add in Week 2.
