Who is the biggest fantasy value in Dallas? If he comes back strong from last season's fractured clavicle, it could be quarterback Tony Romo. LM OTERO/Associated Press
The Dallas Cowboys have me perplexed. They have good players – guys like
QB Tony Romo,
WRs Miles Austin and Dez Bryant,
TE Jason Witten, and
RB Felix Jones – but I couldn’t decide if they were being overvalued in drafts. So I did a little checking, and it turns out the opposite might be true.
First we’ll look at the receivers. Using Fantasy Football Calculator (a great website), Austin ranks in mock drafts as a late third-round pick in a 10-team league. Last year (using ESPN fantasy scoring), he scored 150 points. Closest to him was Tampa Bay’s Mike Williams, who had one more point. Williams is going in the late fourth round. With Romo back, I’d rate Austin ahead of Williams, so this makes sense to me.
Bryant doesn’t make sense, though. He’s averaging out as a late fourth-round pick, ahead of guys like
Wes Welker and
Brandon Marshall and not far behind Williams and
Dwayne Bowe. The second-year receiver out of Oklahoma State has plenty of talent and could live up to that high of a pick, but he hasn’t proven it, yet. I can’t see him going as high as he’s being taken, even with Romo back under center and
Roy Williams out of Dallas.
Jones, the Booker T. Washington grad, is averaging out as a mid-fifth-round pick. Last year, he scored roughly the same amount as
LeGarrette Blount, who is going in the middle of the third round. There are plenty of questions in the Cowboys’ backfield, and I wouldn’t want Jones as one of my top two backs, but if you can get him as your No. 3 in the fifth round, then take him. He’s shown flashes of brilliance, and this year is his chance to show he can be a No. 1 back. If he succeeds, he’s a great value.
And speaking of value, another great bargain on the Dallas roster may be Witten. He’s averaging out as an early sixth-round pick, but by ESPN scoring he was the top tight end in the game. He led NFL tight ends in receptions and yards and was one TD from being tied from the lead there. He and
Antonio Gates are a virtual tossup at the position. Yet Gates is going in the middle of the fourth round.
Romo may be the best value on the team, though, if he can stay healthy. He only played in six games last year, and one of those he left early. If you project his numbers for those first five games through 16 contests, he would have been behind only
Michael Vick,
Aaron Rodgers and
Tom Brady in scoring for quarterbacks. Vick and Rodgers are averaging out as late first-round or early second-round picks. Brady is gone by early in the third round. But Romo is averaging as a mid-fifth-round choice. Even if he doesn't live up to those numbers, there’s potential for a lot of value there.
So, while I hate the Cowboys, their struggles last year with Romo out for much of the season are leading to some nice value picks for fantasy owners. The only player that looks like he’s being overvalued is Bryant, and he has the potential to be a superstar. I’d pass on him until he shows he’s got his head on straight, but the rest of the Cowboys could make a nice addition to your roster if you can get them in the right spot.
