Cowboys vs. Panthers
Cowboys
Dak Prescott
It should be no surprise to folks who have been reading my columns, I love Dak Prescott. Dak finished as the QB11 last season and QB8 in 2016. While not a prolific passer, and certainly lacking in quality targets, Dak has been able to add to his fantasy numbers with his legs. He’s averaged 350 yards rushing and 6 TDs per year in his young career. The key to Dak’s fantasy production may be his running back Zeke Elliott. With Zeke on the field, Prescott has averaged nearly 23 fantasy points a game, That would be good for an easy top 5 QB finish should the two play 16 games. Nearly every fantasy statistic gets a bump with his star in the backfield. To me it doesn’t really matter whos catching passes, Dak will be productive should his game scripts remain positive.
Zeke Elliott
Zeke Elliott didn’t have a single preseason carry and I don’t really think it matters. After missing the final 6 games of the year due to suspension, it will be a full 8 months before we see Zeke take a carry in a regular season game. After rushing for 1631 yards and 15 TDs in his rookie year, Zeke was on pace for another 1500+ yard season, albeit with just 11 TDs. Zeke is also productive in the passing game, averaging 30 catches a season. Dallas will unleash the full ferocity of their star player and the key to their offense. While Carolina gave up just 88 yards a game last season, they may be in for a long day with Zeke ready to redeem himself.
Allen Hurns/ Terrance Williams/Cole Beasley/Michael Gallup
If anyone claims to know how this Cowboys receiving game will play out this year, I need to buy you a beer. I believe this will truly be a wide receiver corps by committee. This week we should be paying attention to formations, snap counts and game script. We should expect a conservative gameplan but I will be curious to see how much volume is distributed to the wide receivers. While we know this team doesn’t have a number one receiver it remains to be seen who Dak’s favorite target will be. Week 1 will truly be a week of information gathering.
Brett Maher
We have a new kicker in Dallas, with Brett Maher winning the job over veteran Dan Bailey. This looks to truly be a cost-saving move but the team was pleased with Maher’s preseason, including drilling a 56-yard FG to close out the preseason. Maher is a rookie but he was in camp 5 seasons ago when Dan Bailey was a rookie and won the job. Maher could be a surprise or he could be a terrible mistake. I look forward to seeing if he can be a solid bye week option for us should he remain confident in the early part of the year.
Cowboys Defense
I admit I am a Dallas Cowboys fan but with that being said I am most excited about this young defense. The team finished 13th in yards but 8th in points against last season, a sneaky performance for an under-rated defense. While they did lose a key LB, they were able to replace and add to the LB depth. This looks to be one of the strongest units on the team with a healthy Sean Lee and an ascending Jaylon Smith. They also have what looks to be a strong pass rush with Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory/Taco Charlton on the other side. However, the biggest upgrade the Cowboys made in the off-season was shuffling the defensive backfield, moving Byron Jones to corner and inserting Chidobe Awuzie as a full-time starter. Get used to pronouncing Chih-doe-beh Ah-wooz-yeh because Chido could be the star of this defense. Keep them on your waiver wire speed dial.
-Marc Salazar
Panthers
Cam is the most volatile QB in fantasy football: WIll he boom or bust?
Cam Newton’s fantasy point game logs from last season don’t seem to have much correlation with his opponent. He scored 8.3 and 20.4 against the Saints, 12.6 and 15.6 against Tampa Bay, 20.7 against the Eagles, 33 against New England, 7.4 against Chicago…yeah, you get the point. Newton had four games where he threw for three touchdowns or more last year, and with the shaky secondary of Dallas, I could see that happening again. Even if he doesn’t, he’s still a threat to run, as he ran for 50+ yards in nine games last season.
Will McCaffrey be the focal point of the offense?
Sunday will be the moment of truth for the Panthers’ game plan: Will Christian McCaffrey actually get 20 touches in the game, or is this like when they said Cam was going to “run less” last off-season (aka a smokescreen). I’m leaning towards the former, as he’s the perfect back in a Norv Turner system, and in week 3 of the preseason saw 14 touches in the first half. ESPN has the Cowboys D/ST as the 9th toughest opponent against the run, but 4th easiest against the pass. I’m not as sold on the Cowboys D/ST as __ is, so I think McCaffrey is a solid top 5 RB play in PPR.
How will Olsen being back at full strength effect WR targets?
While Greg Olsen was out last season, it seemed like the Panthers finally figured out how to use Devin Funchess. In the few games Olsen played at the end of the season, Funchess’ targets fell off. It was a small sample size, but it’s not like Olsen wasn’t a favorite target of Cam’s in the years prior. The Panthers also took DJ Moore in the first round of the draft, and has performed well in the pre-season (the team is hoping he turns out like Steve Smith Sr.). Given his low catch percentage, I wouldn’t worry about Funchess if he only ends up with three catches in the game. If he’s only targeted five times, that’s more worrisome.
Can the Panthers Defense stop Zeke?
There were only two things able to keep Zeke Elliott in check last season: Roger Goodell and the Denver Broncos. The Panthers defense was able to contain almost all backfields last season, only allowing over 100 yards rushing three times last season (Miami and New Orleans twice). With Dallas’ passing options being rather limited, the Panthers should stuff the box more often than usual to contain arguably the league’s best rusher playing with a chip on his shoulder.
-Alex Drennan
Cards switched from a 3-4 to a 4-3 this season, not the other way around