The Dallas Cowboys held one of the most anticipated offensive units going into the 2021 fantasy football season. Fantasy managers had no qualms with quarterback Dak Prescott coming off of a major injury, were intrigued by wide receiver CeeDee Lamb’s potential sophomore leap, and were impressed with running back Ezekiel Elliott’s offseason shape. All of that anticipation was met with HBO’s series Hard Knocks following the Cowboys through the month of August, which helped their offensive starters sky rocket even more in draft value. By the end of the 2021 fantasy football season they would have an offensive starter finish in the top 10 in PPR scoring formats at each position, except for wide receiver where their two primary starters finished in the top 30. Fast forward to the summer before the 2022 fantasy football season and there seems to be almost no buzz what so ever on the Cowboys. I believe far too many fantasy football managers are sleeping on this offense in the current offseason, let’s break down this offensive unit at each position from a fantasy perspective down below.
Dak Prescott truly had a phenomenal year at the quarterback position last season scoring the second most fantasy points of his career with 316.56 on average in PPR scoring formats. Prescott also threw for the second most passing yards of his career with 4449 passing yards, held his second highest passer rating with 104.2, and threw the most touchdowns of his entire career at 37 passing touchdowns overall. His rushing upside did take a dramatic downturn from previous seasons with 146 rushing yards and just 1 rushing touchdown, but he certainly made up for that through the air. Overall Prescott came in as quarterback 8 on average in PPR and standard scoring formats, even with missing one game last season. He currently has an average ADP of 79.9 making him an absolute steal moving into 2022.
The departure of Amari Cooper from the Cowboys offense definitely impacts this offense as a whole but I still think this wide receiver core has fantastic talent. Cooper came in as wide receiver 27 on average in PPR scoring formats last season and after an explosive week 1, really had an up and down season. He ultimately finished with over 800 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns so there’s no denying the veteran wide receiver will be missed. CeeDee Lamb will be tasked with moving into the position of being a true wide receiver one, and many fantasy managers have strong confidence that this task will be more than manageable for the young receiver. In Lamb’s sophomore season he finished as wide receiver 19 on average in PPR scoring formats, which was not a major leap from his rookie season, but ultimately his 1100 receiving yards and 6 scores were still impressive. Lamb is certainly creating the most buzz out of any player on this offense moving into 2022 becoming Prescott’s primary target, with an ADP of 19.7 currently. It’s worth noting that fifth year receiver Michael Gallup who only played 9 games last year due to injury, has an incredible ADP of 119.8. When Gallup is fully healthy he has amazing chemistry with quarterback Dak Prescott and could certainly see an uptick in targets this season moving into the wide receiver 2 position. 5th round draft selection Jalen Tolbert out of South Alabama and the signing of former Pittsburgh Steelers James Washington, are two additions that make this wide receiver room even more electrifying. There’s no denying that Prescott will have plenty of options at the wide receiver position this season, and his top two targets are easily obtainable in fantasy football mock drafts.
Transiting to Dak Prescott’s other primary target, let’s talk about tight end Dalton Schultz who had a break out season in 2021. Schultz turned out being one of the year’s best waiver wire additions in 2021, having no mention as a fantasy option prior to the season. Overall he finished as tight end 3 on average in both PPR and standard scoring formats. He had an impressive 78 receptions, 808 receiving yards, and 8 touchdowns. The important aspect of Schultz’s season is the development in chemistry with Prescott in the red-zone, scoring over half of his touchdowns weeks 12-18. With the Cowboys and Schultz reportedly close on extension talks, fantasy managers have no reason to not believe that same chemistry will carry over into the 2022 season. Despite all of that Schultz is coming in at an ADP of 62 giving him great value at the tight end position.
Last of all let’s discuss the most controversial position on the Cowboys’ offense, the running back position. There are a lot of fantasy managers leery of drafting veteran running back Ezekiel Elliott, and managers who feel more bullish on younger running back Tony Pollard who showed some spectacular flashes last season. Regardless of how you feel about either running back, both carry phenomenal draft value with Elliott coming in at an ADP of 31 and Pollard coming in at an ADP of 90.8. Elliott finished as running back 7 on average in PPR scoring formats last season, and even though he battled some injuries still was a major part of the Cowboy’s offensive attack and played through all 17 regular season games. Elliott still rushed for over 1000 yards and scored 12 total touchdowns, he is also reportedly fully healthy heading into the season. Pollard had an incredible season as the RB2 in this offense finishing as running back 28 on average in PPR scoring formats. Pollard had 5 double digit performances, rushed for over 700 yards and found the end zone twice. Whether you still believe in Elliott as the primary back for the Cowboys or you want to take a risk on Pollard a bit later and believe he can become the primary back, both running backs are beyond affordable in mock drafts at this point in the offseason.
Overall the Cowboys’ offense doesn’t seem to be in too bad of shape from a pure fantasy perspective moving into the 2022 fantasy football season. The offensive line is probably the biggest concern for this offense although it was addressed somewhat in the NFL draft. As a whole I still have more than enough faith that this offensive unit can be explosive in 2022 and offer consistency for 2022 fantasy football rosters. Dak Prescott is coming off of his second best fantasy season all time, CeeDee Lamb is more than capable of stepping into the role of wide receiver 1, Dalton Schultz could be one of the most up and coming tight ends in the league, and both running backs on this roster offer great value at their respective draft projections. Overall I see no reason why fantasy managers should not be more excited about the Dallas Cowboys’ offense moving into the 2022 fantasy football season.
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