Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle was added to the injury report on Saturday with an ankle and is now questionable for Sunday's game vs. the Panthers. Despite his 79-yard, one-TD effort in last week's blowout win over the Giants, Dowdle should not have been in your Week 11 fantasy plans. His absence tomorrow would be a slight boost to RB Tony Pollard's fantasy outlook.
Week 10 brought Cowboys RB Tony Pollard weakest fantasy score of the season. He recorded 15 carries for 55 rushing yards and went without a target for the first time since Week 5 of 2021. Backup RB Rico Dowdle (12 carries, 79 rushing yards), QB Dak Prescott, and WR CeeDee Lamb all scored rushing TDs in the game. Some of that was just bad luck, though. Pollard got two carries from the Giants' 4-yard line and one from the 2. All three of those runs gained yardage but found him stopped short of the goal line. Pollard also sat out the entire fourth quarter, which was when Dowdle scored his 1-yard TD. Pollard has now failed to hit 10+ PPR points in five of his last six games played. But there almost has to be some positive TD regression coming. He's tied for fifth in the league in carries inside the 5-yard line and has logged the second-most carries inside the 10. But 15 and 24 players have scored more TDs in those ranges, respectively. We mentioned Pollard as a "sell" in the past. If you're still holding him now, though, you basically need to ride it out. Sunday's final stats make it look like Dowdle challenged his role, but Pollard led his backup 15-6 in carries before leaving the game. He gets about as good a rebound spot as possible at Carolina this week, followed by positive matchups with Washington and Seattle.
The Cowboys racked up 406 total yards in Sunday's narrow loss to the Eagles. But RB Tony Pollard failed to benefit once again. He did take his 12 carries for a decent 51 yards (4.3 per rush) against the league's No. 1 run defense in DVOA. But he added just 3 receptions for 12 yards among 5 targets and failed to find the end zone for the seventh straight game. Pollard did actually cross the goal line from the Philadelphia 2-yard line in the fourth quarter, but an illegal-formation penalty negated that TD. He got one other carry inside the 10 but gained just 3 yards from the 7-yard line. Red-zone opportunities and overall carry share haven't been problems for Pollard. Efficiency has. Just 3 non-QB carries went to Dallas teammates on Sunday, and only 1 other target went to a RB (FB Hunter Luepke). Pollard's workload and the strength of the Dallas offense should keep him OK for fantasy, at least. And the next two weeks hold positive matchups with the Giants and Panthers.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard stayed quiet in Week 8, posting 53 rushing yards on 12 attempts. He added 1 catch for 2 yards. Dallas won in a blowout, but it’s concerning to see Pollard’s target count drop to one (2.9%). Prior to Sunday, Pollard caught 3+ balls in five straight. Dallas simply leaned on CeeDee Lamb in this one, leading to a massive 12-158-2 line. Pollard will look to rebound next week against a strong Eagles run D.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard handled 15 carries for a measly 30 rushing yards in Week 6 vs. the Chargers. Fortunately, he was able to haul 6 of 7 targets for 80 yards as a pass-catcher in the contest, but Monday night was the third game in a row that the veteran failed to eclipse 50 rushing yards. Still, we like Pollard as a solid weekly starter with plenty of volume. He is just in a bit of a lull right now. Fantasy managers will have to wait until Week 8 vs. the Rams to trot the speedy back out in their lineups.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard had a quiet game in Week 5. The veteran tallied 64 total yards on 12 touches with a lost fumble vs. the 49ers. His teammates Deuce Vaughn and Rico Dowdle combined for 8 carries and 22 rushing yards, so it’s not as though any other Cowboys RB had much greater success in the blowout 42-10 loss. Fortunately, Week 6 brings a matchup against a Chargers defense that ranked as the 11th-easiest opponent in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs prior to their bye week. Fantasy managers will have to get over this bummer quickly and hope for better days ahead.
The Cowboys racked up 38 points in Sunday's blowout win over the Patriots, but RB Tony Pollard didn't do any of it. He carried 11 times for 47 yards and caught all 3 targets for 13 more. But he watched Hunter Luepke claim the team's only rushing TD from 3 yards out midway through the fourth quarter. CeeDee Lamb caught the only other offensive TD. The defense added a pair of TD returns. There's nothing to worry about from this disappointing day if you have Pollard rostered. Just shrug it off and get ready for a tough matchup with the 49ers in Week 5. At least the doughy Chargers defense awaits the week after that.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard encountered some bad luck in Week 3. He looked spry en route to 121 yards on 26 touches, but he lost a 15-yard screen pass TD to backup Rico Dowdle. (Pollard wasn’t in for the previous play, and the one before that was a false start.) Dallas’ lead back is now sitting on 0 TDs over the past two weeks, despite 58 touches. You’ll continue to see him near the top of our RB rankings due to that high-end volume.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard logged 14 carries for 70 rushing yards and 2 TDs in Week 1’s win against the Giants. He also added a pair of catches on 3 targets for 12 receiving yards. This game got away from the Giants quickly, so fantasy managers should be glad that Pollard got plenty of points before the Cowboys ultimately took their foot off the gas by the fourth quarter. Rookie Deuce Vaughn and Rico Dowdle split backup RB duties, each receiving 6 carries in the victory. Pollard will look to continue his success again in Week 2 vs. the Jets.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero hears that the Cowboys are looking to get RB Tony Pollard 18-20 touches vs. the Giants tonight. That's more than enough for him to return RB1 production. "We'll also see Rico Dowdle some on third downs, and they do have packages in the game plan for rookie Deuce Vaughn," Pelissero adds.
The Cowboys released RB Malik Davis. They'll roll with RBs Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn behind starter Tony Pollard to open the season. Neither Dowdle nor Vaughn figure to have fantasy value behind Pollard. And a Pollard injury would likely result in a committee backfield.
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah came away from Cowboys training camp “concerned” about the O-line. LT Tyron Smith “looked a little bit old,” per Jeremiah. He also noted the absence of G Zack Martin (contract). It’s a storyline to follow, but we’re not too worried about this unit limiting Dak Prescott and company. See why in our recent piece on O-line play and fantasy production.
Per the official team website, Cowboys RB Tony Pollard is medically cleared to begin training camp. Pollard sustained a broken fibula in the team's playoff loss to the 49ers in January and required surgery. He'll enter 2023 as the Cowboys' RB1 and play on a $10.1 million franchise tag. While it's still unclear who'll end up spelling Pollard and help shoulder the workload, this is excellent news for fantasy managers to see. We feel confident Pollard will be a stellar fantasy asset this upcoming season. See where he sits in our current RB rankings.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard is expected to be ready for training camp, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Pollard's 2022 season ended with a fractured left fibula on January 22, but his recovery has gone smoothly based on reports throughout the offseason. That leg injury shouldn't be a factor by the time this coming season kicks off. Pollard sits inside the top 10 RBs in our 2023 PPR Rankings.
Jon Machota of The Athletic believes RB Malik Davis is “the most likely candidate” to earn Dallas’ RB2 job. His competition includes Ronald Jones and rookie scat back Deuce Vaughn. As Machota admits, the team could bring in a veteran to share the load with Tony Pollard. We’ll see how this situation develops in training camp. For now, outside of ultra-deep formats, Davis isn’t someone we’re looking to buy. The former Florida Gator brings some pass-catching chops with 54 receptions over his final two college seasons. But Davis also went undrafted last April following his redshirt senior campaign. He'll turn 25 in November.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard supplied an update on his health. Recall that he sustained a fractured fibula in January. “I’m a little bit ahead of schedule,” Pollard said on Thursday. “I’m not really limited at this point, it’s just being smart with it.” In other words, the 26-year-old is on track for full clearance come training camp. A top-8 fantasy season looks attainable if Pollard’s health cooperates.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (leg) is on the field for OTAs this week. HC Mike McCarthy called these "reduced-tempo" workouts, but the fact that Pollard is doing anything after his January fibula fracture is encouraging. We'll continue to track his progress, but he should be ready to rock come Week 1.
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