(thesportspost.com)

Key Fantasy Relevant Losses

•  DeMarco Murray

Key Relevant Fantasy Additions

• Darren McFadden

Overview

In real football, the Cowboys are the worst.  Unless you’re a fan of them and Jerry Jones’ leathery corpse face, you hate them.  Their “fans” sprout up from every corner of the country, and 97.89% of them have exactly zero connections to Texas.  “Hey, I watched football in the 90’s so I like the Cowboys because they won those games with those guys that are on TV talking about other games now .” Good for you. In real life, the Cowboys are a franchise mired in mediocrity and unfulfilled potential, a laughable mix of superstar choke artists and underwear thieves.

But, let’s be honest, you’re not reading this because you care about real football. You’re reading this because despite their late season incompetence and many fatal flaws, the Cowboys produce fantasy juggernauts, and this year should be no different.  Sure, the ‘Boys saw the NFL’s leading rusher DeMarco Murray depart for greener pastures, but they return pretty much everyone else from the league’s fifth highest scoring offense. Expect big things in fantasy from this years squad, and otherwise sit back and enjoy as they blow it in real life.

Quarterback

I’m admittedly a Tony Romo apologist, which is a weird thing to say as a Redskins fan. Dude has gotten a bit of an unfair wrap, period.  Sure, he Bill Buckner’d a snap that will live on in infamy as an example of a playoff choke job, but he’s also been a damn solid quarterback for a long time and has consistently been a late round bargain as a starting fantasy quarterback.  Last year, while DeMarco Murray carried the ball approximately 15,434 times for the Cowboys offense, Romo had arguably his best season as a pro, tossing 34 touchdowns with just nine picks, while completing just under 70% of his passes. And he did all of this while being flat-out beat up.

Romo entered the season still recovering from back surgery, then suffered fractures of two transverse processes (the little spiny bones that stick out of your spine), and some sort or rib injury that was either broken ribs or torn cartilage.  In any event, Romo was a flat-out warrior last year.  From a fantasy perspective, he was fine, better than middle of the pack but generally solid. The Cowboys will still be a run heavy team this year, but with Murray gone and Romo back to full health, expect Romo to finish as a top ten fantasy QB, and at a value price.

Position Grade: B+

Running back

The way folks are hyping up the Cowboys offensive line, you’d think that Vince Wilfork could rush for 1500 yards behind them.  There’s no doubt it’s a talented bunch, but let’s not go crazy here.  DeMarco Murray had a little something to do with the nearly 1900 yards he put up on the ground last year, and a big part of that was staying on the field.  The Cowboys will now turn to an unheralded — and in part untested — group who have talent but may lack durability.

Jospeh Randle and his eye-popping 6.7 yards per carry last season certainly jumps off the page, but that was from a grand total of 54 carries.  He has only 105 career NFL carries.  Can he last an entire season as the starter? Then there’s Darren McFadden. Raise your hand if you’ve drafted McFadden on more than one occasion, and each time thought “This is the year.”  Yeah, it was the year of the [insert broken body part].  Add Lance Dunbar to the mix with his 80 career carries and the question marks abound for this group.  In fact, all three are currently injured to some degree and missed the Cowboys first preseason game, opening the door for undrafted rookie free agent Gus Johnson to hit the field.

This situation is a mess. Sure, it’s possible one of these guys (my bet would be on Randle) grabs the starting gig by the horns, stays healthy, and has a big season, but more than likely this will be some sort of RBBC with more frustration than excitement for fantasy owners.

Position Grade: C

Wide Receiver

Dez Bryant is a stud. The last three seasons, he’s averaged over 1300 yards, 90 receptions, and nearly 14 touchdowns per season. He’s healthy, he just got paid, and should be seeing even more looks this year with the loss of Murray in the running game. The question that remains is who becomes the Robin to Bryant’s Batman for this receiving corps. Terrence Williams exploded out of the gates last season, racking up six TDs in the first seven games of the season. But he fizzled late, watching his targets shift to Cole Beasley, the Cowboys version of the now highly fashionable tiny white dude NFL WR.  Both have the chance to be solid contributors in the Cowboys offense, but are limited in fantasy value by the Cowboys run heavy attack.  News out of camp is that rookie Lucky Whitehead has been a star, but outside of dynasty leagues he’s not worth a pick just yet.

Position Grade:  B+

Tight End

The twilight of Jason Witten‘s fantasy career draws nigh.  The model of consistency for years, Witten seemed to always be the third or fourth best fantasy TE after super studs like Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez came off the board.  Witten is hardly irrelevant now, and in fact is probably a smart pick once the Gronk’s and Jimmy Graham‘s are gone if you favor reliability over upside. Entering his 13th NFL season, Witten is coming off his lowest reception and yardage total season since 2006. But, he still caught 64 balls for 703 yards and five TDs, and ranked in the top ten in fantasy TEs. No longer a star, Witten still remains a solid fantasy contributor lumped into that large group of TEs not named Gronk that we’ll all be trying to sort through come draft day. You could certainly do worse than Witten.

Position Grade:  B-

Summary

This offense can help you win in fantasy.  Dez Bryant is clear a first round draft choice, Tony Romo is a solid value pick at QB, and Jason Witten is Mr. Reliable at TE.  If one of these RBs establishes himself as stud duck in the Cowboys backfield and can stay healthy, you might be looking at viable fantasy starters at every major offensive position from this team.

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