Rico Dowdle: 2020 Dynasty Rookie Profile
Position: RB
School: South Carolina
Class: Senior
Date of Birth: June 4, 1998
Height: 5-11 Weight: 213lbs
Athletic Testing
40-Time: 4.54
Speed Score: 100.3 (66th-percentile)
Burst Score: 128.1 (88th-percentile)
Bio
Before attending South Carolina, Rico Dowdle was a Parade All-American as a dual-threat quarterback at A.C. Reynolds high school in North Carolina. He racked up 2,545 yards and 51 touchdowns as a runner and passed for 1,434 yards with 11 scores. He was a three-star recruit and received offers from Appalachian State, Charlotte, and Boston College before he committed to joining the Gamecocks. Dowdle missed the first four games of 2016 while recovering from sports hernia surgery but still managed to lead the team in rushing as a true freshman. While starting seven of nine games played, he took 133 carries for 764 yards (5.7 YPC) and six touchdowns.
See Where Rico Dowdle Lands In Our 2020 Dynasty Rookie Rankings
A broken leg forced him to miss significant time again in 2017. In eight games (four starts), Dowdle ran for 251 yards on 66 carries (3.8 YPC) and two touchdowns. He added 11 receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown. He was back on top of the running back depth chart as a junior (123-654-5.3, four touchdowns; 13-133-9.5, one touchdown receiving), playing in 12 games with eight starts.
The injury bug returned in 2019, forcing Dowdle to miss two games with a knee sprain. He split time with Clemson transfer Tavien Feaster and finished with 498 rushing yards on 106 carries (4.7 YPC) and four touchdowns and 22 receptions for 167 yards. He didn’t look quite the same when he returned from the injury, though, averaging just 1.46 yards per carry over the final three games.
Dowdle performed well at the Combine and boasts a 100.3 (66th-percentile) Speed Score and 128.1 (88th-percentile) Burst Score.
College Stats
Rico Dowdle College Stats Courtesy of sports-reference.com
Positives
+Pro size
+100.3 (66th-percentile) Speed Score
+128.1 (88th-percentile) Burst Score
+123 yards from scrimmage against Alabama in 2019
+Above Average Vision
+Caught over 50 passes in his college career
+Three-down upside
Negatives
-23.1-percent (45th-percentile) Dominator
-5.2 (38th-percentile) YPC
-6.4-percent (37th-percentile) Target Share
-Missed games due to injury in all four seasons (12 total missed games)
-Experienced fumbling issues
-Jack of all trades, master of none
-Focus drops
-Pass protection
-12.9-percent TD share
-Not elusive in the open field
Highlight Reel
Best Comparable Player (PlayerProfiler): Trey Edmunds
NFL Draft Projection: Mid-late Day Three
Bottom Line:
Rico Dowdle is an intriguing late-round prospect in dynasty rookie drafts. That’s if he can find the NFL draft capital. He’s a tough one to project as he could go off the board as early as the fifth round or find himself without a seat when the music stops. Dowdle has the size, speed, burst, and skill set to play on all three downs and could become a decent fantasy handcuff as a team’s RB2 or as part of a committee. If he’s drafted before the seventh round and into a decent situation, Dowdle will remain a solid flier for your dynasty team. Even if he goes undrafted you may still want to draft him for his badass name.
Resources: DLF, PlayerProfiler, NFL.com, PFF
