The anticipation of the 2024 NFL season is palpable and is even more appealing to a certain group of people.
Millions of people around the world love the game of football. It's an American pastime that has brought families together for decades but there is another element that sparks excitement.
Have you ever played fantasy football? If you haven't, what are you waiting for?
As I always explain to people who haven't played, fantasy football can help keep you interested in football when your favorite team isn't performing very well.
Luckily for us, the Dallas Cowboys have been a pretty good football team aside from the 8-8 season under new HC Mike McCarthy during Covid.
Dallas has rattled off three consecutive 12-win seasons, and although they haven't found playoff success, actual NFL playoffs don't matter in the fantasy world. For the most part, fantasy football championships are played no later than Week 14 of the actual NFL season.
There are some league commissioners out there who foolishly extend their championship games until the penultimate week of the NFL season, and it has led to much controversy as to how games that late in the season should be scored.
The upcoming season will be my 15th year playing fantasy football and I have a handful of championships to show for it. Not to mention fiscal winnings that have long since been spent.
Today, I'd like to discuss the top three fantasy-relevant players on the Dallas Cowboys, and how they can help you win your fantasy football league.
*ESPN's standard scoring and rankings are referenced for this article.*
Dak Prescott
When it comes to distributing the football to earn skill players fantasy points, the quarterback position is arguably the most important role on the field unless your team is a completely run-heavy football team.
Dak Prescott was crucial to the success of his teammates in 2023. He was no slouch either when it came to scoring points, finishing as the third-ranked quarterback among qualified players, behind only Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts.
Prescott's 342.8 points was one of the highest season totals of his career, and the benefactors of that success are what made the Cowboys an intriguing team to follow in fantasy.
If Dak can maintain the same level of efficiency and success in 2024, it will unlock good things for the entire team. Not only from a fantasy perspective, but from a real-world perspective as well.
According to ESPN's projections for the 2024 fantasy season, Prescott is expected to finish 8th among qualified quarterbacks. After finishing third last year and coming back even stronger in 2024, it's difficult to believe he won't finish near the top three again.
CeeDee Lamb
The main benefactor of Prescott's success on the field has been WR CeeDee Lamb. Lamb and Prescott have developed the rapport that all coaches hope their top quarterback and wide receiver have.
They anticipate what one another wants to do pre-snap, but also have the rapport to know what one another is planning when a play breaks down or the defense switches coverages post-snap.
In 2023, Lamb finished as the highest-scoring fantasy player among all qualified players, ending the season with 403.2 points.
He was the only player to crack the 400-point threshold and is looking to do it again in 2024 as soon as this contract nonsense clears up. Lamb outperformed other top NFL wide receivers like Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill, and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
ESPN's projections for the 2024 season have Lamb repeating his performance from 2023 by once again leading the entire league in points. He is ESPN's pick for the most-coveted of fantasy players.
Jake Ferguson
Another benefactor of Prescott's success in the Cowboys' offense has been TE Jake Ferguson.
Ferguson exploded onto the scene after showing flashes in his rookie season of 2022. The used a 2nd-round pick on TE Luke Schoonmaker from Michigan, but Ferguson made him irrelevant.
He established himself quickly as a playmaker who Dak can rely on when the play breaks down. The seam route they work on together is nearly perfect and nearly impossible to stop.
In 2023, Ferguson became a reliable fantasy asset as well as a real-life weapon for the Cowboys. He finished in the top-10 of fantasy scoring tight ends, ahead of former Cowboys Dalton Schultz.
ESPN projects Ferguson to finish right at 9th or 10th among tight ends, and I do have to say that I think that is selling him short. He showed us in 2023 that he is a player on the rise, and that ascension will continue in 2024.
Despite the “expert” rankings, I expect Ferguson to finish the 2024 fantasy season as a top-5 and maybe even top-3 fantasy option at tight end.
