Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, October 11 at 4:25 PM ET
Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
Betting Odds: DAL -9.5, 54 total via Oddsshark
Network: CBS
New York Giants
Quarterback
Daniel Jones (Sit)
Coming into the year, Daniel Jones was pegged as a sleeper to many but has failed to live up to the hype in the post-Barkley era of the 2020 season. Since losing his star running back and having a rotating door of wideouts, Danny Dimes has put together three straight weeks of single-digit fantasy performances. He now gets an abysmal Dallas defense, but even then he can’t be trusted as a streamer with how bad his performance has been. Passing for two touchdowns and five picks on the year, leave Danny on the waiver wire.
Running Backs
Devonta Freeman (Start, Flex), Wayne Gallman (Sit), Dion Lewis (Sit)
After the Barkley injury, the Giants were scrambling to sign former top fantasy back Devonta Freeman. It has been a slow churn so far, but he has been out of football for an extended period of time and has had to pick up the offense quickly. After only five touches in Week 3, Freeman saw a big uptick in the form of 15 total touches for 68 yards. Going against a Dallas defense that got gashed by every running back that the Browns put in the game last week, look for Freeman to be involved on the ground and through the air and provide flex value. Past Freeman, Wayne Gallman and popular Week 2 waiver add Dion Lewis are not options and can be dropped at this point. Freeman is the only back worth owning in this offense.
Wide Receivers/Tight End
Darius Slayton (Start, WR2), Golden Tate (Sit), Evan Engram (Start, TE1)
Fantasy owners were jumping for joy Week 1 when Darius Slayton came out of the gate with 6/102/2. Since then, however, he has only managed 9/144/0 and has been a major disappointment as an upside Flex play. This week, I expect another big game from Slayton as the Cowboys have been getting burnt deep all season. Expect Slayton to be an upside Flex play that returns WR2 numbers this week as the Giants will be chasing points and holes in this Swiss Cheese defense. I don’t expect Daniel Jones to have a spectacular game despite the projections for Slayton, so I wouldn’t recommend Golden Tate unless you are desperate in filling your Flex spot as he could somehow find the endzone. Even Engram is a name that hasn’t returned TE1 value as many thought. This week I see him hitting that double-digit threshold and find the endzone in an easy upside matchup. He isn’t the every week TE1 that we wanted him to be, but this week he is a lock to produce.
Dallas Cowboys
Quarterback
Dak Prescott (Start, QB1)
The Cowboys defense may suck, but that is great news for a team’s starting quarterback in fantasy. Playing from behind in every game this season, Dak Prescott has thrown for 450 or more yards in three straight games, sporting an 8:3 TD: INT ratio over that time frame. The Giants aren’t a scary matchup, but there is more of a chance that the Cowboys get an early lead in this one than in other weeks. Keep in mind, that is what we thought about Cleveland and we saw how that went. Regardless, Dak is an elite QB1 and will continue to be as long as health permits. He is a set and forget it option and you aren’t going to get cute here.
Running Back
Ezekiel Elliot (Start, RB1), Tony Pollard (Sit)
Regardless of the high volume passing offense, Ezekiel Elliot has put together a fine season thus far. Despite lower rushing totals, Zeke has 23/159/1 through the air to raise his floor each week even when the Cowboys fall behind. This week I expect to see more of a ground and pound approach in a game I expect the Cowboys to lead wire-to-wire. With 273/3 on the ground thus far on 70 carries, I expect a rushing attempt number in the twenties and over 100 yards with upside for multiple touchdowns. At this point, Tony Pollard is a high upside stash with no current standalone value as a backup to Zeke. I would stash if you are a Zeke owner or not with the current state of the RB position as we are losing 1-2 elite RBs per week it seems.
Wide Receivers/Tight End
Amari Cooper (Start, WR1), CeeDee Lamb (Start, WR2), Michael Gallup (Sit), Cedrick Wilson (Sit), Dalton Schultz (Start, TE1)
One of the bigger receiving groups in the NFL, the Cowboys boast at least four fantasy-relevant pass-catchers each week and that doesn’t even include Zeke. The consistent shining star has been Amari Cooper who is averaging a ridiculous 12.7 targets per game. On the year, Cooper has 37/401/1 while the Cowboys have been playing from behind. I expect a lower target share this week, but he is due some help in the touchdown department. The surprise second wide receiver to own in this offense has actually been rookie CeeDee Lamb who scored his first two touchdowns of his career against the Browns. Boasting a 21/309/2 line on the season with a few rushing and return yards thrown in, Lamb has seemingly usurped Michael Gallup as the WR2 for the Cowboys and fantasy teams. Averaging about 15 FPPG on the year in PPR leagues, Lamb is set up to be a consistent producer all year long. Speaking of Gallup, talk about disappointing. After a year that saw the young wide receiver have a breakout year with over 200 PPR fantasy points, Gallup has only had one week above 8 points this season. CeeDee is what everyone wanted Gallup to be. I know it seems odd to sit someone you drafted as high as Gallup, but I think it is time to sit Gallup for the time being. Cedrick Wilson has actually shown some flashes the past couple of weeks but is still not a recommended add in deep leagues yet. Dalton Schultz has treated owners who took the chance on him nicely since Blake Jarwin went down. Over the past three weeks, Schultz has seen an elite target share of 24 and has turned those into 17/208/2. That is TE1 if I have ever seen it, especially this year. Keep him firing as he has TD upside each week and has put up elite TE1 numbers in two of the past three weeks.
-Matt Dean (@MattDeanQBList on twitter, mdean8 on Reddit)
Just to be clear. Carson was not concussed. he was checked for a concussion after a hit. There are no tiers to concussions. Had he had a concussion he would have been pulled from the game.