Rico Dowdle
- RB
- , Pittsburgh Steelers
- 28
- 215 lbs
- 6' 0"
- South Carolina
- 91
- 2
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2026 Draft note
Dowdle improved from RB24 in 2024 (Dallas) to RB16 in 2025 (Carolina). He had a great run from Week 5 to Week 9, averaging 153 total yards per game and eventually took over the lead role while Chuba Hubbard recovered from a calf injury that was hampering his production. Dowdle’s run grade (35th percentile), elusive rating (23rd percentile), and success rate (26th percentile) were all below average. His YBC/Att (60th percentile) and YAC/Att (57th percentile) were slightly above average but not difference-making. Reunited with his former head coach Mike McCarthy in Pittsburgh, Dowdle joins a backfield with 114 vacated carries following Kenneth Gainwell's departure, presenting a real opportunity for touches alongside Jaylen Warren. There’s even a chance that McCarthy gives Dowdle the starting job considering what he produced (1,328 total yards and 5 touchdowns on 274 touches) in their last year together in Dallas. The Steelers added two tackles in the first three rounds–Max Iheanachor in the first round and Gennings Dunker in the third–which should stabilize the offensive line.
2026 Strength of Schedule - PIT
| W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | W7 | W8 | W9 | W10 | W11 | W12 | W13 | W14 | W15 | W16 | W17 | W18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 ATL | 9 @NE | 3 CIN | 13 @CLE | 24 IND | 2 @TB | 32 @NO | 13 CLE | BYE | 3 @CIN | 14 @PHI | 16 DEN | 22 HOU | 8 @JAX | 5 BAL | 29 CAR | 26 @TEN | 5 @BAL |
Schedule difficulty based on schedule-adjusted, positional defensive ranking. Top DEF = 1, bottom DEF = 32.
Game Stats
| Week | Opp | RuAtt | RuYds | RuTD | Fum | YPC | Rec | RecYds | RecTD | Tgts | YPR | STD | 0.5 PPR | PPR | Snaps | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ATL | 8 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1.88 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 3.00 | 2.1 | 3.10 | 4.1 | 39/67 | 58.2% |
| 2 | @NE | 7 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 3.14 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 11.00 | 4.4 | 5.40 | 6.4 | 18/70 | 25.7% |
O
Injury Details (w3)
Status: Out Injury: Toe | CIN | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
O
Injury Details (w4)
Status: Out Injury: Toe | @CLE | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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Injury Details (w5)
Status: Out Injury: Toe | IND | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 6 | @TB | 7 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 5.71 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 3.00 | 4.9 | 6.40 | 7.9 | 21/79 | 26.6% |
| 7 | @NO | 9 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 4.56 | 6 | 45 | 0 | 6 | 7.50 | 8.6 | 11.60 | 14.6 | 28/64 | 43.8% |
| Per game | 7.75 | 29.50 | 0 | 0 | 3.81 | 3.25 | 20.50 | 0 | 4.25 | 6.31 | 5.00 | 6.63 | 8.25 | 26.50/70.00 | 38.56% | |
| Totals | 31 | 118 | 0 | 0 | 3.81 | 13 | 82 | 0 | 17 | 6.31 | 20 | 26.5 | 33 | 106/280 | 38.56% | |
Previous Games vs. CLE
| Season | Week | Opp | RuAtt | RuYds | RuTD | Fum | YPC | Rec | RecYds | RecTD | Tgts | YPR | STD | 0.5 PPR | PPR | Snaps | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4 | @CLE | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2024 | 1 | @CLE | 8 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 3.25 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 6.00 | 3.2 | 3.70 | 4.2 | 28/63 | 44.44% |
| 2020 | 4 | CLE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | - | 0.0 | 0/82 | 0.00% |
| Average | 4.00 | 13.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.63 | 0.50 | 3.00 | 0.00 | 0.50 | 3.00 | 1.60 | 1.85 | 2.10 | 14.00/72.50 | 22.22% | ||
