Fantasy Football Player Notes

There's only one running back over the last five years who's finished top-six three times, and that's Elliott. Oddly enough, he's never finished as No. 1 though. The Cowboys passing offense just got better with the addition of CeeDee Lamb, and while that may put a cap on Elliott's targets in the passing game, he should be free to rock against seven-man fronts. He saw eight-plus defenders in the box 19.3 percent of the time last year, a number that may dip down into the single digits, provided the Cowboys go three-wide more often than not. Stop trying to find "the next big thing," because Elliott has proven time and time again that he's among the safest picks at the top of the draft. He's posted RB2 or better numbers in 92.9 percent of his career games, which is better than any running back I've ever charted. In fact, the closest is Le'Veon Bell, who's hit that mark 87.0 percent of the time.

You won't find a bigger Cooper fan than me, but he may be a tad overrated in the fantasy world. Since arriving in Dallas, he's played 25 games. In those games, he's finished as a WR2 or better in just 11 of them. While it's difficult to find players that hit that mark over 50 percent, you want your WR1 to hit that mark more often than not, which is something Cooper can't say. Now adding CeeDee Lamb to the mix, he may lose some of his target upside, though he didn't have an elite target share to begin with.

He might have the best starting trio in the NFL after the Cowboys snagged CeeDee Lamb at No. 17 overall. We all knew they needed a third wide receiver to play in three-wide sets, but no one thought Lamb would fall to them. The Cowboys are going to find a way to lock him into a long-term contract, and it'd be wise to do it before he explodes statistically. Prescott is the best fantasy quarterback not named Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes.

I think there were a lot of people shocked by the Cowboys selecting CeeDee Lamb at No. 17 overall considering how well Gallup has played to this point. Sure, the Cowboys needed a third wide receiver, but Lamb was the worst-case scenario for Gallup, who's likely moving down to third on the totem pole, capping his potential.

It was a shock to see the Cowboys snag Lamb at No. 17 overall, as they already had two top-24 receivers (fantasy-wise). This complicates the matter, as both Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup each lose target volume with Lamb in the fold. The question is: How much? It's tough to see Lamb rack up more than 80 targets in his rookie season, which means he should be kept in WR4/5 territory until we know he'll play ahead of Gallup in 2WR sets.

We saw flash out of Pollard last year, as he posted three games with 17-plus PPR points, and that was with Ezekiel Elliott on the field. Now a year older, the Cowboys may decide to dial back the veteran's workload, which would provide Pollard with a bigger role. If Elliott were to miss time, Pollard would immediately jump into the RB1 conversation.

When the Cowboys selected CeeDee Lamb at No. 17 overall, it dragged down both Michael Gallup and Jarwin, as the targets will be harder to come by. Still, you don't want to underrate Jarwin considering he and Jason Witten combined for 124 targets in this offense last year.

Zuerlein hasn't been close to the fantasy stalwart he once was over the last two seasons, as accuracy issues have plagued him as they did earlier in his career. Now with the Cowboys, Zuerlein should have every opportunity to bounce back on a team that provides its kickers with plenty of field goal opportunities. Once the top few kicking options are gone, Zuerlein should be next off the board (in the last round, of course).