What an horrifying injury for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.
The star QB suffered a compound ankle fracture and dislocation in the team’s eventual win, with the NFL world sending prayers to him. It’s devastating on a whole bunch of levels, including that he was in the middle of an incredible season (while not on a long-term contract). Wishing him a full and speedy recovery.
That leaves Andy Dalton as the quarterback in Dallas, and for fantasy football owners, that has the chance to change a lot of things for the Cowboys myriad of talented receivers. Let’s break it down:
Andy Dalton
Part of the reason why Prescott was putting together such a monster season was the Cowboys’ defense handing him catch-up opportunities. It happened again on Sunday with the Giants putting up 34 points and Dalton led the team to a comeback victory.
So while there is a downgrade in talent from Prescott to Dalton, the volume could still be there. And volume is king in fantasy. If you need a quarterback — obviously, if you have Prescott on you’re team, this means you — he’s a top-15 option with weeks that could be huge. Yes, he threw 14 interceptions to 16 touchdowns in his final season with Cincinnati, but the talent in Dallas is much, much better than what the 2019 Bengals had. I mean, my goodness, this was fantastic:
Andy Dalton and Michael Gallup coming in super clutch for the #Cowboys. This is an incredible grab.
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) October 11, 2020
Ezekiel Elliott
Business as usual here. He’s still one the most dependable runners in the NFL and in fantasy, and I expect him to continue what he’s done all year and what he did in Prescott’s absence.
Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, Dalton Schultz
Normally, I’d break this group out into separate names, but I’m thinking their current values don’t fluctuate THAT much. Cooper is still No. 1 (he was shadowed by James Bradberry on Sunday, which could explain the dip in targets), Lamb has leapfrogged Gallup to be No. 2, Gallup has seen his workload go way down (but he could have good games from time to time), and Schultz will see red zone targets. If the volume wasn’t there, I’d be more nervous. But they’ll all be fine.
