David Montgomery · Rico Dowdle · 2026 week 1

David Montgomery or Rico Dowdle?

Wondering who you should start this week — David Montgomery or Rico Dowdle? The start/sit call and the numbers behind it are below, plus who wins a straight-up trade. Rebuilt nightly.

Start David Montgomery — barelyThis one is a coin flip — the projections are within 1.4 points. The matchup leans David Montgomery (BUF allow the 7th-most RB points), but you can defend either call.

Player	Wk 1	Proj (PPR)	Matchup	Form L3	Trade value	Status
David Montgomery START	vs BUF	13.9	7th · soft	4.6	3,226	healthy
Rico Dowdle	vs ATL	12.5	17th	6.9	1,679	healthy

RBs vs BUF recently: Trayveon Williams 5.5 pts (W16) · Saquon Barkley 6.8 pts (W17) · Andrew Beck 6.2 pts (W18).

RBs vs ATL recently: Michael Carter 6.5 pts (W16) · Kyren Williams 13 pts (W17) · Audric Estime 10.6 pts (W18).

Who wins a straight-up trade?

David Montgomery carries the higher trade value — 3,226 against 1,679 (a 48% gap). In a one-for-one, the side receiving David Montgomery gets the most. Momentum: David Montgomery +66 and Rico Dowdle +17 over the last 30 days.

Open in Start/Sit (any scoring) Open in the Trade Analyzer

More RB decisions

David Montgomery or Cam Skattebo?David Montgomery or D'Andre Swift?David Montgomery or Bucky Irving?Rico Dowdle or Jaylen Warren?Rico Dowdle or Rhamondre Stevenson?Rico Dowdle or Josh Jacobs?

Game logs, matchup ranks and form are the 2025 season — 2026 hasn’t kicked off. Projections, schedule and trade values are current 2026 numbers, refreshed nightly.