Dak Prescott‘s devastating injury in Week 5 served as a cold, unfortunate reminder that these guys are more than just football players. They’re people, just like us, and you can’t help but feel for them in this type of situation. We wish him a speedy recovery; the football world is a better place when he’s playing.
Andy Dalton
Dalton is now a low-end QB1, plain and simple. The three-time Pro Bowler has 30,000+ yards to his name and steps into an offense with better surrounding talent than he had in any of his years in Cincinnati. The Cowboys’ defense can’t stop a nosebleed, which is tough for the team, but great for fantasy owners, as they’ve been forced to air the ball out each week. Dalton is a different player than Dak, and he won’t put up Dak numbers, but he can air it out when the need comes.
Ezekiel Elliott/Tony Pollard
The Cowboys will likely lean on the run a bit more now with Dalton at the helm, which bodes well for Elliott and Pollard. Elliott has either scored, put up 100+ yards, or both in each of the team’s first five games, and those numbers should remain the norm for the two-time rushing champ. He remains a rock-solid RB1. Pollard saw a season-high eight touches in Week 5, though he wasn’t able to muster much out of those. The added looks for the ground game going forward will likely see him earn a decent floor for touches, which could see him work his way toward some FLEX appeal, but until we see that from him, he’s best served as a handcuff for Elliott.
Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, CeeDee Lamb
All three of these guys currently sit in the top 20 for receiving yards this season. With game-script often forcing the Cowboys to air out the ball, there have been plenty of opportunities to go around. Should the ‘Boys try and run the ball more, all three of these players will see their production take a small hit. That being said, with the amount of talent between them, all three need to remain in your lineup. Gallup owners get a little bonus, at least to start, as he seemed to be who Dalton looked for when it mattered most.
Dalton Schultz
Schultz has been very hit-or-miss this year, with Week 5 coming as a major miss. With that in mind, if you have the luxury of a more stable tight end on your roster despite the barren landscape of NFL TEs, consider using them this week until we see how Schultz meshes with his fellow Dalton. Working in Schultz’s favor, however, is [Andy] Dalton’s history with tight ends, as he managed to make fantasy-relevant players out of Tyler Kroft and C.J. Uzomah in 2017 and 2018, respectively, and Tyler Eifert before that.
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