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Player Outlooks (2024)
QB Dak Prescott: The Cowboys have a lot of pressure on them this year with everyone seemingly on the hot seat, and that includes Prescott if he doesn’t sign an extension before the season. Last year, Dak had the best statistical season of his career, and he was absolutely on fire when the offense centered around CeeDee Lamb—going for a season-long pace of 4,919 yards and a 46:8 touchdown-interception ratio over the final 11 games. Dallas will be counting on younger options like rookies Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe up front and Jalen Tolbert at wide receiver, but Prescott again has high-end QB1 upside despite ranking as a mid-to-low QB1 due to the strength of the position.
QB Trey Lance: We still believe the potential is there for Lance, and he really hasn’t gotten much of a shot to show what he can do with just four starts with the 49ers before Brock Purdy emerged. At the same time, a lack of experience is a major concern considering Lance has thrown 132 passes in a game since 2019, and he only had one season as a starter in college.
RB Ezekiel Elliott: Elliott returning to Dallas won’t result in him suddenly turning back the clock, but those calling him “washed” after a year with the Patriots might have been looking at the statistics on a bad New England offense or expecting Zeke to have the speed he had earlier in his career. Despite the situation, Elliott averaged 13.3 fantasy points per game over the final six weeks last year, and he’s a tremendous value leading a committee for an offense that shouldn’t have any problems moving the ball and setting up touchdown opportunities.
RB Rico Dowdle: Limited name recognition for Dowdle might have him flying under the radar in fantasy drafts, but he could very well be in an even split with Ezekiel Elliott, and the former undrafted free agent showed well in three games with more than ten touches last year—rushing 12 times for 79 yards and a touchdown versus the Giants, turning 13 touches into 52 yards and a score versus the Eagles, and totaling 100 yards on 12 touches versus Washington. He also should be fresh similar to early-career Tony Pollard playing behind Elliott, so weekly FLEX potential is there.
RB Deuce Vaughn: Vaughn seeing some time in the slot during OTAs is good news for his chances of earning snaps in 2024, but receiving work out of the backfield would be the clearer path towards fantasy relevancy in full PPR leagues—so we’ll see if he can make it more than a two-man show. The effectiveness of Ezekiel Elliott in pass protection hurts those chances, but Vaughn could be relied upon more if Jalen Tolbert or someone else doesn’t step up.
RB Royce Freeman: Freeman was signed before Ezekiel Elliott this offseason, but he now needs to either beat out Deuce Vaughn or have the Cowboys keep four running backs. The former third-round pick of the Broncos did re-emerge last year with the Rams by rushing 77 times for 319 yards (4.1 YPC) and two touchdowns after a few seasons of limited work, so maybe he can build on it to give Dallas the most frustrating backfield situation in the league.
WR CeeDee Lamb: Lamb was already a superstar entering last season, but he took his game to another level to arguably claim the title as the NFL’s best wide receiver—routinely torching opponents as the focal point of Mike McCarthy’s offense. Lamb is used in the slot enough that he’s essentially a total matchup-proof option, and he’s shown an extremely high floor and ceiling to be worthy of taking as high as No. 2 overall in fantasy drafts. Following the bye week last year, Lamb scored in all but one of his final 11 appearances, and the only game without a touchdown still saw him rack up 11 receptions for 191 yards in a team-carrying loss to the Eagles. Look for him to again put up massive numbers in 2024.
WR Brandin Cooks: Cooks got off to a slow start to begin his first season in Dallas, but he eventually became more involved starting with a breakout 9/173/1 line in a Week 10 win over the Giants, which fueled a strong finish with six touchdowns over the final nine games. The chemistry with Dak Prescott was improved down the stretch during that same span with 9.5 yards per target (compared to 7.7 yards per target across the first seven games), and Cooks has a case for WR3 value depending on how much the unheralded options step up.
WR Jalen Tolbert: Wide receiver is the position where offseason and summer buzz often seem to not pan out, but Tolbert has been highlighted as a player Dallas anticipates stepping up in his third season—and we were high on him coming out of South Alabama. While there are some inconsistency issues with drops, Tolbert has a play style and skillset similar to Gabe Davis, and an increased role could lead to opportunities for chunk plays alongside CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks with a quarterback in Dak Prescott that has one of the NFL’s best deep balls. Tolbert is one of many players worth considering as a late-round flier.
WR KaVontae Turpin: The depth of the Cowboys is where they could run into trouble, but Turpin has shown well when given opportunities—including 23 touches for 237 total yards (10.3 yards per touch) and one touchdown in 2023. Fantasy value will be difficult to come by, though, and Turpin’s production will likely be too random to predict.
WR Ryan Flournoy: A sixth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Flournoy was someone many thought would go higher, and he landed in a good spot due to the lack of proven options behind CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks. Earning the trust of Dak Prescott is the path to the rookie defying expectations in Year 1.
TE Jake Ferguson: Ferguson deserves a ton of credit for a Pro Bowl campaign after the Cowboys spent a second-round pick on Luke Schoonmaker in the 2023 NFL Draft, and he’s now undoubtedly locked into the major role for a high-flying offense that seems primed to put everything on Dak Prescott’s arm. Consistency was the appeal of Ferguson more than anything else, but he also showed quality upside with chunk plays down the seam and a handful of scores to finish as the overall TE8 on the season. If you want safety, Ferguson is a very reliable mid-round option at the position.
TE Luke Schoonmaker: Again, Schoonmaker was a second-round pick last year, and the Cowboys would surely love for him to make a Year 2 leap. That said, injury is the only path for him to become a consistent fantasy contributor this season, and we thought Schoonmaker was more of a Day 3 prospect coming out of Michigan—so he’s more of a dynasty stash.
Other Notes
Best IDP value: CB Trevon Diggs
The Cowboys could be more dangerous than ever defensively with Diggs returning from a torn ACL to play across from DaRon Bland—as quarterbacks won’t be able to completely avoid the playmaking duo on the outside. Remember, Diggs had 11 interceptions in 2021, and Bland setting the NFL record for pick-sixes in a season last year (five) will force quarterbacks to throw in Diggs’ direction more often than they did in 2022 when he had three interceptions.
Stat to know (via draft guide)
In 12 games following a blowout loss to the 49ers last season, Dak Prescott had a season-long pace of 4,895 passing yards and a 44:7 touchdown-interception on a reasonable 35.8 pass attempts per game.