Dallas Cowboys

The Resurgence of Ezekiel Elliott

Dynasty / By /

Yes I know, Zeke was disappointing for fantasy owners in 2020 and didn’t look like himself, but c’mon, 2020 was an odd year for everyone. Zeke has been one of the most consistent, durable, and skillful starting running backs over the last five seasons. Over his career, Zeke has only missed seven games, and only ONE of those being due to injury (calf strain Week 13 vs 49ers). Before Dak’s injury, Zeke looked like a top-tier RB ranking third in standard scoring. Also, Zeke was at a disadvantage with his offensive line facing injuries all season long. Travis Frederick retired before the season, La’el Collins had hip surgery, Tyron Smith with a neck injury after only two games, and Zack Martin only played 50% of snaps because of a lingering calf issue. That’s their top four options on the offensive line. Not to mention the backup OL was also getting banged up all season long and was constantly changing offering little consistency. 

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Kickoff Countdown: 6 Days ‘Til Football

All Access / By /

Welcome to the seventh installment in our 12-part series counting down the days until we can once again sit and watch this sport that we love (and dominate our fantasy leagues in the process). The idea behind this countdown is simple. Each article will have a numeric theme, counting down as each day is marked off the calendar, inching closer to kickoff. With just six days left until we have real football, this article will highlight six offenses to target for the fantasy football season.

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Fireside Chat With Heady

Dynasty / By /

Welcome mafiosos to a little Q and A session with the only @Heady_Football. I took some time to gather some questions you on Twitter, our DFF Army, have asked over the off-season along with some questions I have been asked off-line, by my friends and family. Yes, don’t be shocked, I do have a life outside of fantasy football. Granted, it’s not much but it is one nevertheless. So, without further adieu, here are some of the best questions I received.

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NFL Kickoff Countdown: 8 Divisional Sleepers

Dynasty / By /

Football is in the air folks! Training camp highlight tweets are crackling on our timelines and the preseason overreactions are flying through the air. Most importantly, the DFF Kickoff Countdown marches on! So, with eight days left until kickoff, I’ll be bringing you one sleeper from all eight divisions.

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Cam Newton Released: Rapid Reaction

Dynasty / By /

Former NFL MVP Cam Newton has been released by the New England Patriots. If you’ve followed me at all over the last few months you know this comes as no surprise. By all accounts, the 15th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft Mac Jones outperformed Newton all offseason during camp and joint practices. We all witnessed Jones stand out above the pack in the preseason games, which clearly gave the Patriots the confidence to move forward with the 15th overall pick as their starting quarterback.

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2021 Dynasty Profile: Michael Gallup

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Michael Gallup’s college football career began at Butler Community College. As a freshman in 2014, he dominated the competition and led the team in receiving. Unfortunately, Gallup missed most of his sophomore season with an ankle injury before transferring to Colorado State University for his junior season. There, he posted back-to-back seasons of at least 1,250 yards. Gallup’s recorded breakout age of 20.5 is relatively late, but his 98th-percentile College Target Share and 75th-percentile College Dominator reflect a truly dominant finish to his college football career.

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Searching for RB Deep Stashes

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In dynasty, one of the most under-appreciated assets is the bench stash running back. These cheap assets can climb up depth charts and become useful to either your starting lineup or for trade. These types of players can be acquired for a fourth-round rookie pick or less in most leagues but can return a second-rounder or more in trades if they become a starter. Even if it’s only for a couple of weeks. For example, last season I was able to trade Ryan Nall and a third-round rookie pick for a second-round rookie pick when he took over for David Montgomery. The hardest part is finding which players are the best bets to not only remain on a team but also climb a depth chart. This article will go over certain metrics you can look for when deciding between these late-round or free-agent RBs.

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CeeDee Lamb: 2021 Dynasty Profile

Dynasty / By /

CeeDee Lamb was a box-stuffing college prospect at Oklahoma. His Breakout Age of 19.4 ranks in the 80th percentile, while his 38.1% College Dominator ranks in the 77th percentile. Additionally, Lamb recorded a 97th-percentile College YPR and a 79th-percentile College Target Share. In other words, Lamb was highly targeted and extremely productive and efficient with the targets that he received–oh, and he did it all at a young age. To say that Ceedee Lamb was a “good” prospect would be a drastic understatement.

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“Hard Knocks” Premiere: Micah Parsons Shines

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I’ve long been a huge fan of the HBO series “Hard Knocks” since its premiere in 2001. Outside of the expected silliness ranging from former Jets’ HC Rex Ryan’s “let’s get a snack” quote to Vince Wilfork’s “naked overalls” episode with the Texans, the show always does a fantastic job of hyping me up for the NFL season. So when the Cowboys were chosen for this year’s series, I mildly cringed at the idiocy that was inbound. And, spoiler alert, Mike McCarthy delivers in droves via an Austin Powers movie clip and fake bravado that brought on a mild panic attack. Yes, it’s insulting to the viewer but even more so to Mike Meyers who’s probably on the line with Jerry Jones negotiating compensation as I write this.

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Fourth Year: Budget “Buy-Now”

Dynasty / By /

The most expensive option on this list but a clear example of the dynasty community’s “what have you done for me lately” mindset. Sutton is a player that can be bought for a late first or early second who has already produced multiple fantasy-relevant seasons, including a 72/1,112/6 season in 2019. Going into his age 26 season this year, he is a player that offers a much safer floor than others going in that ADP range having already proven he can do it with a rookie QB in Drew Lock. Sutton offers genuine WR1 upside. It would be remiss to not mention the fact that this offense has more targets than it did in 2019 now boasting Noah Fant, Jerry Jeudy, & Javonte Williams, but for a QB like Lock that is fighting for his job, he will be looking to a guy like Sutton who has performed for him before.

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Fantasy Stock Up, Stock Down: NFC East

Dynasty / By /

Miles Sanders’ stock is dropping, and his fantasy value is in a completely opposite situation than last offseason at this time. The third-year pro put together a somewhat disappointing season in 2020. He played in four fewer games than his rookie year, he hardly outproduced his rushing statistics, and he was simply a non-factor as a receiver out of the backfield. In 2019, he finished as the RB15 in PPR leagues compared to the RB23 in 2020.

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The IDP Unseen: 2021 EDGE

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Accountability is paramount in this business, and last season your author swung big on both Montez Sweat and Ifeadi Odenigbo. One was a home run and the other was a strike-out. Montez Sweat broke out for a double-digit sack season playing across from top draft pick Chase Young, as well as in tandem with fellow defensive interior players Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen, who each boast first-round draft capital of their own. Ifeadi Odenigbo, on the other hand, was not accompanied by perennial all-pro Danielle Hunter, who threatened to hold out before opting for surgery to repair an injury. He ended up missing the entire season and the Vikings’ entire pass rush struggled. 

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Scheme or Scam: Dallas Cowboys

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In 2020 Dynasty Football Factory launched a series titled “Schemes Are Ch-Ch-Changing”. Each edition of the series explored how a new defensive coordinator would affect defenders as fantasy assets. The David Bowie song “Changes” would roll through my head as I started each article. I admit it; by the sixth or seventh article, I began to cringe at the title. I reached out to the team at DFF for ideas. Thus, I give you “Scheme or Scam.” The premise remains. I will investigate for each article how a new defensive scheme will deploy defenders and how that will translate to fantasy value. I write about this because it’s information I sought out and could not find when I began playing IDP fantasy football just a few years ago.

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DFF Draft Coverage: Simi Fehoko to the Cowboys

Dynasty, Rookie / By /

Simi Fehoko had 62 receptions for 1,146 and nine touchdowns in his three-year college career at Stanford. Fehoko is another wide receiver on the older side entering the draft at 23 years old. Although Fehoko is listed as playing three years he was a reserve as a freshman and played just four games catching a single pass for six total yards. He broke out as a sophomore finishing 2019 with 24 catches for 566 yards and six touchdowns. Fehokofollowed up his breakout season with an underwhelming 2020 where he caught 37 passes for just 574 yards and three touchdowns. Most of his production came in two games, however, he did account for 35.7% of his team’s offensive production. 

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DFF Draft Coverage: Micah Parsons to the Cowboys

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Micah Parsons was regarded as a top-ten prospect out of high school across the nation and was honored as the American Family Insurance National Defensive Player of the Year. Although he was not nominally a starter in his first year in Happy Valley, he earned Freshman All-American honors while leading the Nittany Lions in tackles. Parsons took a step forward as a sophomore, earning all-conference honors. 

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Top 12 Dynasty WRs And Their Advanced Statistics

Dynasty / By /

In this article, I will be dissecting the current top twelve dynasty wide receivers, based on ADP provided by Rotoviz.com. To do this I have compiled a list of these WRs, their base stats, calculated their advanced stats that I think are important, and turned it all into an easily digestible chart. There are a few things you will need to know before we look at the chart so let’s talk about those.

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2021 NFL Draft Preview: Team Needs Picks 6 – 10

Dynasty, Rookie / By /

This is the second article of the team needs series covering teams picking six through 10. Obviously, free-agency acquisitions will make a major difference as to who teams will draft. These predictions and needs will therefore change as we acquire more information. However, many are of the thinking that it’s better to supplement with free-agency and build through the draft. Teams want to get young assets and have them develop cohesion with the team. Therefore, the draft is often more predictive of a team’s long-term confidence in a player.

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Raiding the IDP Waiver Wire: Week 16

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This has been by far the most challenging season of sit/start decisions I’ve encountered in my years of fantasy football. Those of you in championship games and toilet bowls alike should take a moment to reflect on a challenging season, pat yourself on the back for your grit, and know that lessons learned this year will prepare you well for in-season roster management next year and beyond. If you’ve decided best-ball is your jam for 2021, I fully support you!

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IDP Wrap Up: Week 14

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Holy Smokes, this week was a fun one for the Washington Football Team defense. Playing at the displaced defending NFC champion 49ers, the Football Team produced four sacks, two fumbles, an interception, and two touchdowns to help secure the victory. Since Week 11, Washington has given up a total of 57 points (fewer than 15 per game), while scoring three touchdowns and registering 12 sacks in that timeframe. Players that made IDP waves this week include Chase Young, Kamren Curl, and Montez Sweat.

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Rookie Stock Market: Week 14

Dynasty / By /

The first week of the fantasy football playoffs is now behind, and I hope you still have a horse in the race. There were lots of rookies in Week 14 that performed well and could have really helped your teams. One top-five QB in Tua, two top 10 WRs in KJ Hamler and Brandon Aiyuk, two top 10 RBs in Jonathan Taylor and Cam Akers, and plenty of others like Lynn Bowden, and J.K. Dobbins who could have been worthy Flex plays. I will not dive into all of these players, but like last week I will be giving you a quick Week 15 playoff spin on the players I do touch on this week. 3,2,1… it’s go time!

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