DALLAS COWBOYS

by Big League Fantasy

Dak Prescott: Dak has found himself in a weird spot come the 2022 season. He had just lost both WR Cedrick Wilson and Amari Cooper to free agency + did not get much back to replace them. Thankfully, the Cowboys have been loaded up with weapons and he still has plenty of firepower to rely on including WR Ceedee Lamb, Michael Gallup, RB’s Ezekiel Elliott, Tony Pollard and TE Dalton Schultz. The loss of these weapons and Dak’s failure to jump into the elite-tier of QBs has caused his value to drop over the last year. He hasn’t shown the same upside he once did but still comes with a solid floor and is the QB of a good offense. The team that Dak is on is the biggest indicator that he has one of the highest floors in the league. The Dallas Cowboys had the 4th most team pass plays per game and had the second best game script for QBs in the league. This is due to the Cowboys defense being so volatile, Dak just continually ends up on the field needing to make plays to make things happen. If you’ve drafted a strong team, Dak is a great QB to have to bring you a high floor and almost every-week starter. He should be drafted as a mid-low QB1 due to his high floor and good upside.

Ezekiel Elliott: He’s washed up! Last season proved it after he finished as… *check notes*... the RB7 in 2021? Whether you like it or not, Ezekiel Elliott is still a good football player. With the loss of other prominent weapons on Dallas, he should see more usage in the receiving game as well. In addition, Ezekiel Elliott suffered a knee injury half-way through last season that was did not seem to be fully healed by year end. Even so, he averaged 17 PPG during the stretch before his injury and should receive heavy usage again for 2022. (7th in targets, 5th in red zone touches, 7th in carries for 2021). Zeke should be drafted as a high-mid RB2.

Tony Pollard: Tony Pollard was one of the most efficient runners in the league and had his career-high in targets, touches, and any other opportunity state possible last year. Pollard was second in yards per touch last season and showed breakaway speed that can take the top off the defense at any time. While Pollard is the sexy and exciting pick out of Cowboys camp, we sadly have to take a step back and see that he will still be the RB2 behind Elliott on this offense. On the bright side, with less offensive weapons present, Pollard could find himself on the field a lot more often than a teams RB2 would usually. Whether it be an injury to Zeke or Pollard flat-out showing out in 2022, he has massive upside and is a beautiful RB3 to have on your fantasy team.

Ceedee Lamb: Another fantasy darling who will finally get the opportunity to be a clear-cut WR1 for the Dallas Cowboys. Lamb was an absolute beast with the ball in his hands as he had the fourth best juke rate in the league and fifth in missed tackles forced out all all receivers. Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson are both out of town, leaving Ceedee Lamb in a perfect position to assume the alpha role especially with Michael Gallup still nursing his injury. In short, the Cowboys offense is on the field a ton, is very efficient, captained by a good QB and Ceedee Lamb has already proven his talent. Lock him in as a WR1

Michael Gallup: It is looked less and less likely for Gallup to be healthy come week 1 of the NFL season and that is OK. While that obviously makes him less attractive come draft time, it could make him undervalued in the long run. For all the reasons Ceedee Lamb should be valued highly, you can use the same logic for Gallup. While he has had a harder time staying healthy, he has shown the ability to be a strong receiver in the NFL and someone that Dak Prescott relies on a fair amount. While I do love Gallup as a player, it is best to proceed with caution when it comes to him. His advanced metrics does not wow anybody and even though this can be chalked up to being the WR3 behind Cooper and Lamb, it doesn’t give undeniable confidence that he can fill in Coopers missing role. 

Jalen Tolbert: A big-play receiver that can find himself a good amount of fantasy-relevance with Dak Prescott under center. The new WR3 of the Cowboys will be valued lower than he should be this season. Tolbert possesses break-neck speed and is a true redzone threat. While I don’t see him in the top-3 for receptions (maybe not even top-5 for that matter) he should find himself having some massive games that will help him especially in bestball formats.

Dalton Schultz: Where did Dalton Schultz come from? Plenty of fantasy analysts expected Cowboys TE Blake Jarwin to be the starting tight end. However, week after week Dalton Schultz was getting an immense amount of targets and look by Dak Prescott. This trend continued until Schultz finished as the TE3 for the 2021 season! Schultz will benefit from the departure of Cooper and Cedrick Wilson + the Cowboys typical high paced offense. In a tight end landscape that is typically pretty baron, Schultz stands out as someone who will be a great option come draft day.