2022 Team Previews: Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys Fantasy Preview 2022

All ADP data is courtesy of Fantasy Pros.

** = target in drafts at this ADP

Top 120

CeeDee Lamb, WR (ADP: 18): It’s been a while since the first name on a Cowboys preview wasn’t Ezekiel Elliott, but that just shows how sky high expectations are for Lamb, who has been excellent through his first two NFL seasons, but has still fallen just a bit short of our collective wildest hopes and dreams. Lamb took a small step forward from a great rookie year, finishing 2021 with 79 receptions, 1,102 yards and six touchdowns. While all those marks were better than his rookie season, they still looked too much like his initial campaign, and didn’t demonstrate the leap into superstardom we believe he’s capable of. Well, he’s entering the vaunted third-year breakout zone, and a big piece of the Cowboys’ receiving pie, Amari Cooper, has been excised. Cooper was Dallas’ second-most targeted pass catcher last season, and tied with TE Dalton Schultz despite playing two fewer games. With more than 100 targets vanished, Lamb is in line for a healthy target share increase from a borderline elite QB in Dak Prescott. Lamb impressed PFF, checking in at No. 8 for the season, was dominant across the entire route tree per Reception Perception, and was especially successful vs. man coverage (91st percentile). His versatility will be important, because defenses will key on him now more than ever, so Dallas will need to be creative in getting him the ball. It helps that he can be relied upon to beat defenders without too many gimmicks. This is a high enough ADP that “value” is tough to achieve, but it could seem a little high based on his production so far in his career. I do not think this ADP is too high.

**Ezekiel Elliott, RB (ADP: 27): Elliott, a longtime first round staple, has finally seen his star dim just a bit. His last two seasons, albeit injury-marred, have been quite a step down from his peak. Some might behave as if Elliott’s gas tank is empty. I’m not quite there yet, but RB is a position where even stars aren’t built to last too long and Zeke clearly is displaying wear and tear. Remember, he received 300+ carries in three of his first four seasons. With all that said, the ADP drop is perfect, because he is still very capable of big contributions to fantasy squads.  

For all the huffing and puffing, Elliott still has yet to put forth a season with fewer than 1,200 yards from scrimmage, and he found the end zone 12 times in 2021. He’s sacrificed some of his workload to Tony Pollard; that’s not perfect, because Elliott has always relied on volume being that he’s not a breakaway run type of back, but it could also preserve him across an entire season. Even if the volume drops, that’s built into this ADP, and he will still monopolize short yardage and goal line attempts. Elliott will also see an uptick in his receiving volume with Cooper and Cedrick Wilson gone, because that always happens for RBs. Zeke is now the 15th RB off the board, and he remains important enough to this offense that he’s become a value once again.

Dalton Schultz, TE (ADP: 57): Schultz is a pretty tough guy to figure out. When you watch him, he looks like a very solid, competent pass-catcher. He has a very good quarterback, he should see an uptick in usage, and he had strong stats last year – 78 receptions, 808 yards, eight touchdowns. But at this ADP it just seems like you can do a lot better than those numbers by just not focusing on a TE. Saints WR Michael Thomas is going right after him, as are Allen Robinson and Adam Thielen. These are bona fide, proven WRs with much higher ceilings than 800 yards and eight touchdowns, so I don’t see how Schultz can provide any value being drafted here. He could possibly justify it, but even that’s a stretch. There are several TEs going more than a round after this ADP that could very easily hit the marks Schultz hit last year or surpass those numbers. I do like Schultz, but the ADP has become way too inflated. Massive bust risk going this high.

Dak Prescott, QB (ADP: 79): Prescott made it back from horrific injury last season and made it all the way through, but he wasn’t quite himself. He threw for 4,449 yards and 37 touchdowns, but his 278.1 yards per game left us a bit cold, and, crucially, his rushing understandably fell off a cliff. Dak averaged just 9.1 yards per carry and scored one rushing touchdown. Rushing is an incredibly important part of any QBs resume these days for fantasy status, because there are so many QBs who can put up real numbers on the ground. For a pure passer to rate, he’s got to put up big big yardage and be very efficient with touchdowns. And Prescott was! But he’s lost a key receiver in Cooper, who was not replaced with anyone of note, so if the rushing doesn’t return, Prescott’s ceiling is lowered. He no longer can compete with the likes of a Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen without a return to his old standard. Maybe a full year removed from the injury means he’s confident scurrying around again, or maybe he pivots toward a Russell Wilson model of utilizing his mobility strictly as pocket evasiveness. That will make all the difference, but until we know for sure, this ADP is a little frightening. This is the same general range as Matthew Stafford or Tom Brady, two guys we know won’t run, but are better passers with superior weaponry. 

Tony Pollard, RB (ADP: 87): Pollard really flashed a lot in 2021, and has people clamoring for him to pass Zeke on the depth chart. Save your breath, it isn’t happening. First, Zeke is still getting paid too much to take on a backup/worse half of a duo role, and second, Pollard hasn’t proven his workhorse chops like Elliott has. Pollard is a highly explosive player, who has averaged 5.3 yards per carry twice in his career and scored four touchdowns of 40+ yards since 2019. His career high in rushing attempts is also just 130, established last season, so we don’t know if he’d be able to maintain that burst if he averaged more than nine carries per game, which he’s never done. There’s no doubting Pollard’s raw talent; he ranked fourth per PFF, and had their second-highest pure rushing mark (90.3). He’s more than a pure handcuff now, but with less usage than Zeke, and without the goal line work, I’m not sure what Pollard’s path is to consistent RB2 production aside from injury. Because of that, I’d have to pass at this high ADP even while acknowledging his ridiculous upside if Elliott does get hurt.

Fantasy Relevant (121-200 ADP)

Jalen Tolbert, WR (ADP 169): BEWARE of overyhyping rookie receivers having strong camps. Tolbert has a lot of buzz right now due to the perceived wide open path to a WR2 role in this offense with Gallup out. Remember, we don’t know when Gallup will be back, and if it’s early, he’s likely relegating Tolbert to the role Cedrick Wilson occupied a season ago, at best. But, it’s worth noting that Tolbert has some legit good numbers to show off from his college days at South Alabama, where he posted back-to-back eight-touchdown seasons and amassed more than 1,400 receiving yards in his last year. I’m not very excited about him for redraft, because I think Lamb, Schultz and the RBs will devour the vacated targets, and Gallup will send him to irrelevance upon his return. But he’s an intriguing dynasty league stash.

Michael Gallup, WR (ADP: 176): Gallup is unlikely to be ready to start the season, but he could end up being a pretty valuable pickup. The WR2 role is very open with Cooper gone, and while we’ve established the many options available to soak up those targets, Gallup was paid post-torn ACL, meaning this organization has plans for him. He’s never been the most consistent option, but we have seen him put up an 1,110+-yard season, and be generally useful as a clear third option behind Cooper and Lamb while also contending with a strong running game. If he avoids the PUP list it would be a surprise for him to not perform better than WR56, his current status.

Sleeper Class (200 & later)

Dennis Houston, WR (ADP: N/A): Houston is an undrafted free agent who is very unlikely to make an impact. But, he’s generated a lot of positive coverage in training camp and stranger things have happened. No need to draft the guy, just pay attention as camp progresses as he did lead FCS in receptions per game last year.