Jason Garrett went 8-8 four times during his nine full seasons in Dallas. After finishing with an above-average record for three consecutive seasons, 2019 was a disappointment as the Cowboys missed the playoffs. Although, if you had any Cowboys players on your fantasy team last year, you probably didn't have any complaints. Dak finished the season as QB2, Ezekiel Elliott finished as RB3, Amari Cooper finished as WR10, and Michael Gallup finished as WR22. Dallas' team dominated the fantasy rankings last year, but with a new head coach in Mike McCarthy this season what will happen to their value? Dak Prescott is scheduled to play this upcoming season under the franchise tag for the Cowboys. Dallas also signed Andy Dalton during free agency as the backup, but he's only worthy of a roster spot in fantasy if Dak gets injured. Prescott is entering his fifth season in the league and up to this point has finished as QB5, QB10, QB9, and QB2. With the addition of CeeDee Lamb, one of the best wide receivers in this year's class, it will give Dak yet another option. During his first three years in the league, Prescott had nearly identical stats averaging around 3,500 yards, 22 passing touchdowns, and six rushing touchdowns. Last season, during the last season of his rookie deal, he threw for 4,902 yards and 30 passing touchdowns. The offensive line, which has been one of the best in the league the past few years, has a couple of question marks heading into the season. Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes are viewed as the top two quarterbacks this year, but after those two, I have Prescott as my third quarterback off the board. Depending on how much your league values quarterbacks, Prescott is projected to be drafted in round five or later. Despite finishing as the second-best fantasy quarterback last season, Dak was still closer in points scored to QB12 than he was to Lamar Jackson. Typically, I wait until later in drafts for quarterbacks because of the depth across the league, but a fifth or sixth-round pick for a quarterback who has never finished worse than QB10 is a great value. The running game in Dallas has never looked stronger, ok well maybe that's a stretch, but at least Zeke already has a contract heading into this season. Elliott has only finished outside RB5 once in his four seasons, which was in 2017 when he played in only 10 games and still managed to finish as RB12. This year, four running backs appear to be the top four picks in most fantasy drafts, although Michael Thomas wouldn't agree. Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, Dalvin Cook, and Ezekiel Elliott are projected as the top four picks. Cook has been great when healthy, but health is a huge factor and he's already missed 19 games in his three seasons in the league. After McCaffrey's season last year, it's hard to argue against him going number one, but after that, it comes down to Barkley and Elliott in my opinion. Elliott has been one of the best running backs consistently since entering the league, over his four seasons he's averaged over 24 touches per game, over 120 yards per game, and only missed 6 games due to injury. That means he averages around one touch and 30 yards less per game over his career than McCaffrey averaged last year during his historic season. Running backs in the NFL don't typically have long careers because of the wear and tear they go through and I'm worried the high usage might catch up to Zeke this year. With a new head coach, some new offensive lineman, and another star receiver added to the mix, I would take Elliott third overall. Also, backup running back, Tony Pollard, had a very impressive rookie season last year and is nothing more than a late-round handcuff to Zeke, but he would instantly jump into the RB2 conversation if Elliott missed time. Dallas had a few different needs on draft day, but when CeeDee Lamb fell to them at pick 17 they couldn't refuse. Last season, Cooper and Gallup were each targeted over 110 times, each had over 1,100 receiving yards, and each finished top ten in receptions of 20 yards or more. Adding another playmaker to the trio of Zeke, Cooper, and Gallup might sound like a fantasy nightmare, but there should be enough touches to go around. With Randall Cobb in Houston and Jason Witten in Las Vegas (that sounds weird to say) that leaves 166 targets to be claimed for the 2020 Cowboys. Blake Jarwin, the tight end, might receive some of those targets, but he played in all 16 games last year and only managed to catch more than three passes in one game and never topped 50 receiving yards. With that being said, I wouldn't be surprised if Zeke, Cooper, Gallup, and Jarwin all see around 20 more targets than they did last year, leaving roughly 80-90 targets for rookie CeeDee Lamb. Last year, Lamb made the most of his receptions by averaging 21.4 yards per catch (3rd in NCAA) and catching 14 touchdown passes (5th in NCAA), while only catching 62 passes (64th in NCAA). Amari Cooper is currently projected around WR10-WR15 and expected to be taken towards the end of round three. Normally getting a WR1 at the end of the third round is a great value, but Cooper had almost double the number of games last year with under 50 yards receiving as he had with over 100 yards. The inconsistency is too much for me to trust on my fantasy team, so I'll be targeting someone else. Gallup is projected as a WR3/flex this year after putting up big numbers last season. Round seven is currently where Gallup is slated to be drafted, which seems very low to me. I understand the competition concerns, but he had that last year and still produced. The final receiver, Lamb, will be available in the tenth round or later as a great addition to someone's bench. The Rams had the third-best RB and three top-20 receivers in 2018 until Cooper Kupp got hurt, so it might not be likely, but it is possible they all produce at a high level. As for the tight end position, Blake Jarwin is expected to go undrafted and is unlikely to be much of a factor in fantasy.
Alex Zani
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