Dallas Cowboys
2023 Season Preview:
2022 Finish: 12-5 made playoffs. Beat Bucs in round 1 and eliminated in round 2 by San Francisco.
The Dallas Cowboys produced some fantasy stars as usual in 2022. We saw the breakout of Tony Pollard as a top 10 overall RB even with Zeke Elliot taking 248 touches and 12 touchdowns off the table. Ceedee Lamb also fully broke out into fantasy stardom with a 107 catch, 1300 plus yard season. Dad Prescott has almost become an afterthought for fantasy but should once again be a borderline QB1 and an elite QB2 for super flex and 2QB formats. OC Kellen Moore has moved on but I expect the Cowboys to remain a powerful offense and impactful in fantasy for 2023.
Fantasy Player Outlook:
QB:
Dak Prescott finished around 15th last year in points per game. That factors in week1 when he left early with injury and meaningless week 18. If you remove those 2 games Dak averaged 19.3 ppg and would be right next to Daniel Jones at 8-9 per game depending on scoring. Dak is a great grab if you want to stack up skill players and want to be the last in your league to
take your starter.
RB:
Tony Pollard took the mantle from Zeke last year and became the cowboys RB to own in fantasy. Pollard was absolutely electric when he touched the ball last season. He had almost 1400 yards and 12 scores on only 232 touches. Pollard broke his leg at the end of the year but is fully healthy now. Tiny rookie Deuce Vaughn and Rico Dowdle are his only threat for touches so Pollard is a steal at his second round ADP. I would not be shocked to see him finish as a top 5 fantasy back this year.
WR:
Ceedee Lamb emerged as a fantasy alpha WR1 last season. Lamb racks up almost 1400 yards on 107 receptions and did it without his top QB for 5 games. Lamb is a WR1 and an easy high 2nd round pick or late first if you really like him. Brandin Cooks came to Dallas this offseason and is a great late round pick and sneaky WR3-4. Michael Gallup remains on the roster and will try and compete with Cooks for the WR2 role. I am leaving him on waivers in normal size leagues.
TE:
Jake Ferguson is locked in as TE1 in Dallas. Ferguson is unproven but Dallas TE1 is almost a lock to be fantasy relevant. Ferguson is a nice late round grab if you plan to stream. He could end up just being your starter all year if history is any implication.
DST:
The Cowboys are a high end defense and will be drafted as top 12. The have sack and interception specialists and usually score a few defensive TDs.
Summary:
I think Dallas will have its usual handful of important fantasy players including 2 elite options. Rumors of them slowing down to a ground and pound team just don’t make sense given the size of Pollard and Vaughn. I like all their fantasy players at their cost.
Favorite player to draft given floor, ceiling and cost: Tony Pollard in the early to mid 2nd.
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