Dallas Cowboys Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy said Tuesday that WR Michael Gallup is doing “really well” and has avoided any setbacks in his rehab from a torn ACL. Gallup suffered the injury in Week 17 of last season, but he’s had a relatively smooth recovery since then. Already out for Week 1, we're still not counting on the 26-year-old as an early-season fantasy contributor.

Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy said Tuesday that kicker Brett Maher has won the team’s starting job. McCarthy pointed out Maher’s leg strength and recent confidence as reasons for choosing him over Lirim Hajrullahu. Maher figures to be a viable streaming option this season.

How do the Cowboys feel about QB Dak Prescott's play this summer? “I thought he’s had his best camp that I’ve seen him have since he’s been a Cowboy,” VP Stephen Jones says, according to Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. “Velocity, his accuracy, the whole thing. Obviously, as the quarterbacks get older, they get better. The good ones do. They get better every year. There’s no question in my mind, I think he’s had his best training camp he’s ever had.” We're not altering our projections on praise from the team's front office, but it's certainly good to hear -- especially considering that Prescott has to deal with losing WR Amari Cooper and likely opening the year without WR Michael Gallup (ACL recovery). Prescott sits in low-QB1 territory in our fantasy football rankings and hasn't been a specific target of ours in drafting so far. But he has displayed the upside to outperform that level and is worth a look when he stays on the board into that range.

Cowboys WR Michael Gallup ran routes on Thursday for the first time since tearing his ACL last January, according to insider Michael Gehlken. “It felt great," Gallup said afterward. Gallup is still likely to open the regular season on the PUP list and miss at least the first 4 games. But he's at least making progress in his rehab.

Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb was sidelined for Wednesday's joint practice with the Chargers. He told insider Clarence Hill that he suffered a cut to his foot that required stitches. Lamb wouldn't say how it happened. We'll see exactly how long he's out, but we're not expecting this to impact Lamb's availability for the start of the season.

Cowboys RB Tony Pollard has been "privately tutored" on playing slot receiver by offensive quality control coach Kyle Valero this offseason. "Just details like route-running, getting in and out of breaks, why we’re running certain plays and what’s the meaning behind them,” Pollard said. “We’re getting into the depth of why we’re doing the things that we’re doing, so it will make more sense in the big picture. …It just shows the hard work that I’ve put in. In the offseason, during the season, it’s not going unnoticed. Guys are noticing the things that I can do with the ball to help the team, just knowing that I can contribute more and more to the team.” Pollard ranked 3rd in yards per route run last year among 51 qualifying RBs, and the Cowboys are dangerously thin at WR to open the season. So we're buying some slot usage for Pollard. That'll give him a chance to be a fantasy starter even behind a healthy Ezekiel Elliott.

Arrowhead Pride's Pete Sweeney did not include RB Ronald Jones in his latest 53-man roster projection for the Chiefs. Sweeney has RBs Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Isiah Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon making the team. He believes Edwards-Helaire and Pacheco are locks, with McKinnon and Jones battling for the 3rd and final spot. "My thought is the Chiefs preferred McKinnon — but in March, signed Jones just in case McKinnon decided go elsewhere," Sweeney writes, adding that Jones could be traded to a team that loses a RB to injury over the next few weeks. This isn't the 1st time we've heard that Jones is in danger of missing Kansas City's final roster: Charles Goldman of Chiefs Wire made the same prediction back in July.

Jon Machota of The Athletic named Cowboys WR Simi Fehoko as the “biggest surprise” in training camp. Machota mentions WR Noah Brown as another strong candidate, but it’s Fehoko who’s mentioned as looking “ready to contribute in year 2.” The Stanford product made only 5 appearances as a rookie and didn’t catch a ball — hardly a surprise as a Round 5 pick on a (then) strong WR corps. Injuries to Michael Gallup and James Washington, plus the trade of Amari Cooper, have given guys like Fehoko a shot to emerge. The 24-year-old goes 6’4, 222 pounds with sub-4.5 speed, so he has some intriguing tools to work with.

The Cowboys released K Jonathan Garibay and signed K Brett Maher on Tuesday. Garibay had reportedly struggled mightily in camp. Maher and K Lirim Hajrullahu will duke it out for the starting job over the next month. It's a situation to avoid in fantasy drafts until we get a winner.

Cowboys OC Kellen Moore confirmed his plans to increase RB Tony Pollard’s role in 2022. “He’s a guy that we want to get the ball to,” Moore said of the contract-year back. “He’s had a ton of success when he does get those opportunities. I think the running back role is one thing, certainly when Zeke and him can kind of tag-team that role, but then it’s another opportunity for him to expand that role and play in some different positions, out in space and some of the things that certainly he’s capable of doing. I think the more we expand those roles, the more opportunities he’ll be able to get out there and get touches.” Pollard, with an ADP at mid-Round 7, is one of our favorite RB3 targets.

Jon Machota of The Athletic writes that Dallas’ O-line “has more question marks than it ever has in [Dak] Prescott’s career.” Of note, LT Tyron Smith has made only 13 appearances over the past 2 seasons. Overall, the O-line will be an area we monitor closely as Dallas enters preseason action.

Cowboys WR Michael Gallup (knee) admitted that he won't be ready to play Week 1, calling it "not a reasonable possibility.” It's a rare honest injury assessment from a player -- but it's not a surprise. Gallup didn't undergo surgery on his ACL until early February, so the typical 9-month recovery timeline would have him back in early November. We'll see if he can beat that timeline, but we're expecting Gallup to open the season on reserve PUP and miss at least the first 4 games.

The Cowboys used RB Tony Pollard in a multitude of ways on the 1st day of training camp and are "committed to making Pollard a viable weapon in the offense," insider Clarence Hill writes. "Pollard opened 11-on-11 drills with the first-team offense as slot receiver. He ended practice as the primary third-down back in the 2-minute drill with [Ezekiel] Elliott on the sidelines." Hill adds that he expects Dallas to use Elliott and Pollard on the field together this season. We hear that a lot this time of year, but it certainly makes sense in this situation considering how good Pollard is and the fact that the Cowboys lost WR Amari Cooper and will likely be without WR Michael Gallup early on. We know Pollard is at least an elite fantasy handcuff, but he's also capable of providing standalone value this season.

Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy said Wednesday that WR Michael Gallup is in the "4th quarter" of his ACL rehab. "He hasn’t had a setback," McCarthy added. "He looks really good." McCarthy wouldn't give a timetable for Gallup's return, though. Considering he underwent surgery in early February, there's still a good chance that he misses at least the first 4 games of the season on the PUP list. Gallup even admitted today that it would be a stretch for him to play Week 1.

Cowboys WR Michael Gallup (knee) has been place on the PUP list. No surprise as he continues to recover from early-February surgery to repair a torn ACL. We'll see if Gallup remains on the PUP list to start the season, which would cost him the first 4 weeks. Owner Jerry Jones admitted earlier this offseason that Gallup is iffy for Week 1.

Charles Goldman of Chiefs Wire gave a projection this week for the 53-man roster and left RB Ronald Jones out. "Shocked to not see Ronald Jones' name here? [Jerick] McKinnon's return endangers him more than some are willing to admit," Goldman writes. "I'm left wondering about the things Jones does well enough to make this roster." He goes on to point out that Jones stinks in the passing game, and McKinnon has fared well in that area. We certainly agree with that. And Jones was guaranteed just $750K on his 1-year contract this offseason. Goldman's projection includes McKinnon and 7th-round rookie Isiah Pacheco making the team over Jones and Derrick Gore. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out in camp and preseason. For now, we're still betting on Jones making the team. McKinnon enjoyed a nice playoff run for last year's Chiefs, but he collected just 12 carries and 20 targets for the regular season. Kansas City then let him linger on the open market until well after it had signed Jones. You can consider us unexcited about either Jones or McKinnon for fantasy football drafting.

According to Jon Machota of The Athletic, Cowboys rookie WR Jalen Tolbert "is expected to start Week 1." Machota said right after the draft that the 3rd-round pick had a chance to compete for a significant role right away. Tolbert worked with the starters in spring workouts, helped by the absences of Michael Gallup and James Washington. Gallup isn't expected to be ready for the opener, coming off his end-of-season ACL tear. Washington has yet to deliver in the NFL and arrived on a small, 1-year contract in free agency. The uncertainty with Gallup and departure of Amari Cooper also leaves room for Tolbert to remain a factor even once Gallup returns. Tolbert presents intriguing upside -- especially in Dak Prescott best-ball lineups -- from a WR68 ADP in Underdog drafting.

Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb missed this past week's minicamp with a hamstring injury. He said that he plans to work out with QB Dak Prescott prior to training camp next month, so it doesn't seem like a real concern. But we'll keep an eye on him over the next couple of months.

Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy said the team will utilize QB Dak Prescott's legs more in 2022. The plan is for Dallas to “put in more quarterback runs and quarterback movement plays," per beat writer Clarence Hill. Prescott’s healthier and quicker now that he's further removed from a 2020 ankle fracture. Currently, Dak checks in as a fringe QB1 for 2022.

Cowboys WRs Simi Fehoko and T.J. Vasher have gotten a "ton of work" with Dak Prescott this week, thanks to James Washington and Jalen Tolbert being sidelined, according to David Helman of the team website. Helman added that he saw Fehoko "make 2-3 nice snags." It's assumed that Washington and Tolbert will run ahead of Fehoko and Vasher when healthy, but Tolbert was a 3rd-round pick and Washington signed a small 1-year deal. We're betting on Tolbert and Washington being more relevant as well, but neither is guaranteed a starting role. We'll be watching to see how the WR corps sorts out behind CeeDee Lamb.