Mike Washington · Rico Dowdle · 2026 week 5

Mike Washington or Rico Dowdle?

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

Start Rico Dowdle — barelyThis one is a coin flip — the projections are within 0.2 points. The matchup leans Rico Dowdle (TB allow the 28th-most RB points), but you can defend either call.

Player	Wk 5	Proj (PPR)	Matchup	Form L3	Trade value	Status
Mike Washington	@ NE	8.8	18th	4.9	532	healthy
Rico Dowdle START	@ TB	9.0	28th · tough	5.3	535	Out

RBs vs NE recently: Jaylen Warren 7.7 pts (W2) · Bhayshul Tuten 15 pts (W3) · James Cook 14.3 pts (W4).

RBs vs TB recently: Quinshon Judkins 4.8 pts (W2) · Aaron Jones 9.2 pts (W3) · MarShawn Lloyd 4.9 pts (W4).

🎓 The coach's read

Projections are 0.2 apart — too close to call on projection alone.
Mike Washington faces NE, 18th most generous to RBs.
Rico Dowdle faces TB, 28th most generous to RBs.
Rico Dowdle is flagged OUT.

Who wins a straight-up trade?

Rico Dowdle carries the higher trade value — 535 against 532 (a 1% gap). In a one-for-one, the side receiving Rico Dowdle gets the most. Momentum: Mike Washington -77 and Rico Dowdle -1045 over the last 30 days.

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

More RB decisions

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All numbers are the 2026 season, refreshed nightly.