Fantasy Football Preview: Dallas Cowboys 2010

America's team enters 2010 with a chip on their collective shoulder after being thoroughly embarrassed 34-3 by the Minnesota Vikings in the playoffs. The Cowboys offense remains one of the elite units in the NFL.  They finished 2009 ranked 2nd in the league in yards per game, totalling 400 yards per contest to go with an average of 23 points.  The Cowboys added to their offensive arsenal with first round selection Dez Bryant, arguably the best receiver in the 2010 draft class.  Head Coach Wade Phillips proclaimed has proclaimed that Dez Bryant is the most talented rookie he has seen in his 33 years of coaching, which should all but ensure that the rookie beats out the disappointing Roy Williams.  Bryant should be  lining up opposite Miles Austin as part of the starting lineup week 1. 

The Dallas passing attack benefited greatly from the breakout by undrafted Monmouth college alum Miles Austin.  Cowboys receiver coach Ray Sherman gave Austin high praise, claiming he is the best wide out he’s had the privilige of coaching.  Austin entered the starting lineup in week 5 and never looked back.  The young pass catcher finished the season with a 81 receptions for 1320 yards and 11 touchdowns.  That was good enough to  rank 3rd in fantasy football  production from the wide receiver position,  behind  only Andre Johnson and Randy Moss.  The sky's the limit for the game breaking 25 year old and Jerry Jones would be wise to give him the long term contract that he covets.

The Cowboys RBBC of Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Jones combined to finish the 2009 season ranked 7th in the NFL averaging 130 yards per game.  Felix Jones had an impressive showing in the playoffs and will likely gain a bigger share of the workload as he enters his 3rd NFL season.  Cowboys beat writer Jean-Jacque Taylor of the Dallas Morning News projects 8-10 carries for Marion Barber and 12-15 per game for Felix Jones. Barber will likely remain the favorite for red zone carries making him a better target in TD leagues.  Jones is an electrifying back in the open field but averaged less than 50 yards per game in 2009.  He also failed to top 100 yards in any game.  Fantasy owners need to temper their expectations until he proves that he can endure the rigors of an enhanced workload. Barber enters his 6th season in the NFL and seems determined to fight to regain the starting job.   He's dropped 10 pounds in the offseason and surely is not immune to the criticism he has heard and sting he must have felt when Jerry Jones publicly lobbied for Jones as the starter .   Over the past three seasons he has averaged 930 yards and 8 TDs.  Right now Barber projects as a high end RB3 and a great value in round 7 (current ADP around 70 overall and RB30).

TE Jason Witten had a somewhat disappointing 2009 season by his standards.  He only managed to hit pay dirt twice, despite topping 1,000 yards.  Witten was used primarily as a blocker when the Cowboys reached the red zone, but Wade Phillips has already recognized the need to get the talented tight end more involved near the goal line.  Witten remains in the top tier of tight ends and has the skill set to finish the 2010 season at the top of the rankings making him a potential steal if he is still on the board in the 6th round.  He has tremendous up side and no one to accuse him of late night  covert rendezvous with his quarterback to plot new passing routes.

There is a lot to like when analyzing the Cowboys offense from a  fantasy football perspective.   Miles Austin is a sure fire top 5 WR and rookie Dez Bryant couldn't have fallen into a better situation.  He's sure to enjoy single coverage and will have one the league's premier QBs in Tony Romo slinging him the rock. Felix Jones and Marion Barber have each battled injuries but both have the potential to become legitimate starting fantasy running backs, despite the shared workload.

Fantasy Football Spin:

Stud: WR Miles Austin - Although he's only produced elite stats for one season, I've seen enough to feel safe taking him in the later part round 2.  He is a lock to finish in the top 5 receivers for the foreseeable future.  He proved week after week that his breakout performance in the fifth game of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs (10 catches, 250 yards, 2 TDs) was legit.  I'm expecting around 90 catches, 1,400 yards and 12 TDs in 2010.  As an added bonus the Cowboys enjoy the easiest schedule for wide receivers based on the 2009 defensive statistics of the 2010 opponents.

Dud:  WR Roy Williams - It’s near impossible to find an offensive skill position player on this team that I don't like in 2010.  I guess my only option is the royally overpaid (5 years $45 million) and incredibly unproductive former first round pick (7th overall in 2004) of the Detroit Lions.  Matt Millen’s mistake became Jerry’s miscue and now Jones has to be kicking himself with his spurs for giving up a 1st, 3rd and 6th round pick for a receiver that hasn't averaged over 40 yardsper game over the past two seasons.   Dez Bryant will be lined up opposite Miles Austin when the 2010 season kicks off and Roy Williams will be sipping Gatorade on the sidelines.

Sleeper: RB Tashard Choice - As most fantasy owners are trying to decide whether Felix Jones will gain a greater share than Marion Barber, don't sleep on 3rd stringer Tashard Choice, especially in dynasty leagues. The 25 year old RB out of Georgia Tech averaged an impressive 5.5 yards per carry in limited action last season.  Barber has had two straight injury plagued seasons and Felix Jones,  despite being one of the more dynamic open field runners, has yet  to carry the ball over 15 times in a single game.  Choice's current ADP is around 155 overall (RB55) making him a great target in the last round of your draft.   He is only an injury away from getting 12-15 carries in one of the leagues more explosive offenses and injuries are a distinct possibility when you are talking about Barber and Jones.

For the Fantasy Spin on NFL news go to www.ffspin.com.  See the full version of this article with the opinions of three other expert fantasy football sites at http://www.ffspin.com/?p=1940