Dallas Cowboys - Fantasy News

Dak Prescott 2017 Fantasy Projections

by Mike Rose

8/11/17

NFL

Dallas Cowboys

Dak Prescott

Coming off of one of the greatest rookie showings at the quarterback position in the history of the NFL, Dallas Cowboy Dak Prescott will enter the 2017 season as one of the most highly targeted field generals in season-long and weekly fantasy leagues. The former Mississippi State Bulldog ranked amongst the top 10 in quarterback Dober Fantasy Points per game, and he finds himself in a great position to better his output with a loaded offense returning.

Why Dak Prescott Will Be A 2017 Fantasy Football Stud

Prescott ranked as the tenth-best quarterback at Dober last season by producing an average of 18.1 DFP per game. In terms of quarterback rating, only the Falcons’ Matt Ryan and the Patriots’ Tom Brady placed ahead of him. His 104.9 quarterback rating was a tad higher than Aaron Rodgers and over three points higher than Drew Brees. Those are some impressive arms he outperformed.

Prescott added to his fantasy output by rushing for 282 yards and six touchdowns on 57 overall attempts (4.9 yards per carry). Rushing quarterbacks are few and far between in this day and age, and that’s another factor that helps Prescott rank as one of the elite highly targeted fantasy quarterbacks.

All of the pieces to last year’s Cowboys attack that averaged 376.7 yards per game (No. 5) and 26.3 points per contest (No. 5) are back for the 2017 season. Upper management also brought in a shiny new toy in North Carolina wide receiver Ryan Switzer that will only add to the spoils Prescott gets to utilize on a weekly basis.

Dallas scored 20-plus points in all but four of its 16 regular season games a year ago. More points on the scoreboard equates to more potential fantasy points, and the Cowboys figure to own one of the more potent units in the league once again.

Save for Philadelphia, the NFC East didn’t march out the greatest of pass defenses last season. The Eagles only ranked No. 13 while both the Redskins and Giants ranked amongst the bottom third of the league. Some of Prescott’s best fantasy performances occurred within the division last fall, and he’ll get six more cracks to fill the stat sheet against those defenses this season.

Why Dak Prescott Will Be A 2017 Fantasy Football Bust

Two words: Ezekiel Elliott. The Cowboys are a rush-first offense that possesses one of the best offensive lines in the business. The former Ohio State star took advantage of that aspect to its fullest last season by rushing for over 1,600 yards and 15 touchdowns, out-averaging Prescott by 3.0 Dober Fantasy Points per game. With Elliott now a year wiser and stronger, offensive coordinator Scott Linehan will likely look his way more times than not once again, limiting Prescott’s chances to make hay through the air.

One only has to look as far as the Cowboys’ team rushing play percentage in 2016. Only the Buffalo Bills ran the ball more than the Cowboys, as the teams were the only two in the league that rushed more than 50 percent of the time.

Prescott also only threw the ball 52 times in the red zone. While he completed 55.8 percent of those passes and connected on 14 touchdowns, the efficiency dropped down to 47.8 percent when inside the 10-yard line. Elliott received 22 chances inside the 10 and converted nine of them into touchdowns. The closer Dallas was to its opponents’ goal line, the more Prescott had the ball taken out of his hands. Targeting premier scoring options are what gets it done in weekly leagues, and Prescott is the bridesmaid of the Cowboys’ premier tandem.