Some fantasy football league drafts are already gearing up, while others are still roughly a month away. When it comes to the Dallas Cowboys, there are some obvious players that will be drafted early.
Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and Jake Ferguson should go high among their respective positions. KaVontae Turpin probably cost himself a couple of rounds in fantasy drafts with his recent legal woes, but will still go high.
But there are two Cowboys that you should probably grab in the later rounds, assuming you have the roster spot for them in your league. These two could be poised for big seasons if certain things happen.
Emerging From A Loaded Backfield
I would imagine that Javonte Williams will turn out to be the most drafted running back from Dallas’ roster in fantasy football this year.
If Dallas keeps all six backs on the roster after training camp ends, Miles Sanders and rookie Jaydon Blue will likely follow.
The sleeper to grab out of this group is Phil Mafah, the seventh-round pick out of Clemson. Mafah is a more physical back and better suited to Klayton Adams’ approach to running the football.
If Mafah is there late in your draft, grab him and see how the first few weeks play out.
If he hasn’t been able to get past Williams, Sanders, and Blue by the time your first bye week players hit, then you can drop him and hit the waiver wires.
But for now, he’s worth a late-round gamble.
Insurance Policy
Normally, I advise against drafting the actual back-up of your starter at any position. But this year just might be the exception to that rule.
So, if you are in a keeper or dynasty league and have Prescott on your roster, or if you draft Prescott this year, here’s the move to make.
Draft Joe Milton at some point in your draft after you’ve shored up your starting lineup at the other positions.
It isn’t because Prescott is in jeopardy of losing his starting job in camp, or at any point in the season. He isn’t on any hot seat right now.
But Prescott does have an injury history that should be of concern to fantasy owners.
He has only played two full seasons out of his last five.
One of those two, missed a game with a leg injury. Of the three seasons he’s missed games due to injury, two of those were leg-related injuries.
He’s also not getting any younger, turning 32 later this month.
What Are The Odds
In Prescott’s case, per Draft Sharks, there is currently a 26% chance he misses time this season due to an injury.
If it’s another leg injury, see DeMarvion Overshown, who has back-to-back season-ending leg injuries on his record, Prescott could miss significant playing time again.
The Cowboys understood this when they traded for Joe Milton this offseason. As a fantasy owner of Prescott, you should make sure you get him on your roster too.
You right about Prescott only playing 2 full seasons of the last 5, but what you don’t mention is that those 3 seasons he missed time with an injury were in between the 2 full seasons!! It’s like he keeps getting injured every other year, so if that trend keeps going, then he should be good for this season!! He is getting older, which means it is possible he gets injured more often, but I think he’ll make it through this season without missing a too many games, if any at all!! And his injuries can’t be compared to Overshowns either!! Overshown had 2 injuries, on his knees, but they both were the same injuries!! Except the first one was his ACL, MCL and PCL in his right knee and his 2nd was his ACL in his left knee!! Dak hasn’t been through that!! Dak has had different injuries every time he got injured!! His ankle, thumb and hamstring… All different injuries!! And the only one that is really as bad as Overshown is his ankle injury!! But he hasn’t had a problem with it since he got it repaired!! And it’s been years since it happened!! And he hasn’t had to deal with a major injury in back to back years like Overshown has either!! Daks 2 biggest injuries were years apart, probably about 4 or 5 years apart!! So there’s a big difference!! But my point is that we should worry more about Overshown getting injured again before Dak gets injured again,