Thursday, June 6, 2013

Fantasy Analysis: Dallas Cowboys

Hello once again fantasy community! If you've been following our series of posts, you know we've been taking a quick run trough of each team. If you haven't been, well, I suggest you go read our inaugeral post before you start this. Anyways, we'll be taking a peek at the Dallas Cowboys, and what they have in store for us his season. please feel free to leave comments and questions, and until next time!
Tony Romo
Romo has been one of the most underrated quarterbacks over the past four years. Frequently derided by the fantasy community for his poor play in clutch situations, the truth is that Romo has been a top- 8 fantasy quarterback 3 of the past 4 seasons. Last year, Romo ranked as the 8th best quarterback for fantasy, finishing 3rd in yards (4903) and 6th in TDs (28). He even comes with the nice green light of having the easiest schedule for Quarterbacks this season, if you subscribe to that theory. Much like Matt Ryan last year, having two of the best receivers in the league to throw to in Dez Bryant and Miles Austin, Romo can’t help but having solid fantasy value this year. He’s currently being drafted as the 12th QB off the board, according to Fantasy Football Calculator, and could be a bargain at that price. Draft with confidence.
DeMarco Murray & Joseph Randle
Murray is an elite talent. He shows excellent burst and quickness, and is a threat to score from anywhere on the field. That said, Murray is also an elite injury risk, having missed nine games over the past two years. He didn’t perform at an elite level last year, either, averaging only 4.1 YPC over 161 carries. You can blame injuries for this type of performance, but injuries seem to be a constant problem with this guy. As we saw with Ryan Matthews last year, elite- level talent does not always translate to on- field success, especially where the injury imp is concerned. Murray is currently being drafted as the 27th player off the board in fantasy drafts, which is just a little too high for my taste. I caution against drafting Murray at his current price tag, but if slips to the fourth or fifth round in your league, feel free to take a gamble. Grab rookie Joseph Randle in the lower rounds as the handcuff. Sometimes it’s about rolling the dice.
Dez Bryant & Miles Austin
After years of toiling in the dust, Bryant finally fulfilled his potential, resulting in a career season and finishing as fantasy’s No. 3 receiver. In Week 10, Tony Romo said Bryant had “come 180 degrees,” and boy was he right. Bryant’s final seven games looked something like this; 47 catches for 792 yards and 9 touchdowns. Projected over a full season, and that’s 84 catches, 1408 yards, and 16 touchdowns. That would be good for first among fantasy receivers last season, ahead of even Calvin Johnson’s record- breaking season. Now, a bit of regression is certainly possible, and it’s not like Bryant had ever shown this type of performance in the NFL before. But it’s hard not to get excited about a guy with this much potential. He’s currently being drafted in the middle of the second round, which is right about where I would expect him to be going. We could be talking about a fantasy monster this time next year, or just another top- 5 receiver. Either way, be excited about his potential. Miles Austin is the other guy in this receiving tandem, and a pretty good receiver in his own right. There was a time a few years ago where Austin was discussed as a top 5 fantasy receiver; and while he’s not there now, finishing 26th in fantasy scoring last year, he’s still an able  sidekick to the superhuman Bryant. The only problem with Austin is durability, like Murray, but if he can stay healthy he’s a good No.2 receiver. As it stands, he’s an upper level No.3. Romo has been known to make his No. 3 receivers into pretty good fantasy options, but as to whether that is rookie Terrence Williams or high- upside second year Dwayne Harris is anyone’s guess.
Jason Witten
The aged veteran turned in his 3rd season of 1000+ yards in 4 years, finishing 5th among Tight Ends with 110 catches, 1039 yards and 3 TDs. A PPR monster, Witten has not finished below 79 catches in the past 6 seasons. Unfortunately, what keeps Witten from truly succeeding as a fantasy TE is a lack of touchdowns. Only once in his career has Witten finished above 7 tds, a small number for a tight end. He’s solid enough, but at age 31, Witten could very well be slowing down. Be cautious.
Dan Bailey

Bailey finished 10th in fantasy scoring last year, kicking a cool 29- of- 31 field goals and 37 XP’s for a solid 124 fantasy points. The Cowboys offense could be better if Dez Bryant continues what he did over the final half of the season, so draft. He’s solid. 

No comments:

Post a Comment