Dez Bryant Foot Injury: Who Picks up the Slack for Cowboys Offense?

Ratty HeadshotIn one of the more dramatic games played in Week 1, the Dallas Cowboys were able to escape against the rival New York Giants. While the Cowboys showed at times just how explosive their offense can be, they also turned the football over three times and it could’ve been more if they hadn’t recovered Joseph Randle’s fumble on the first drive of the game. Interestingly enough, none of these turnovers were Tony Romo’s fault.

. . .

And while the Cowboys did finish with the win, they also left Week 1 with an injury to their best offensive weapon in Dez Bryant. Hauling in a first-down catch, Bryant’s foot got caught up with the defender and he ended up breaking his fifth metatarsal. It was “reported” after the game (by none other than Jerry Jones) that Bryant will miss 4-6 weeks with the injury. However, the team was hopeful after the victory that Bryant will only be out for four weeks. Since, reports have come out indicating that 4-6 weeks is surely on the optimistic side of the recovery timeline and that 8-12 weeks may be closer to what the Cowboys (and Bryant fantasy owners) may be facing. Missing even a month of football will destroy Bryant’s value – and it will hurt the Cowboys – but, it will be huge for the other receivers on the Dallas roster. So, who should you buy on in fantasy now that Bryant is out for at least a month?

The receiver depth chart will look like this:

WR1: Terrance Williams
WR2: Devin Street
Slot: Cole Beasley
Depth WR: Lucky Whitehead

The Cowboys will likely pick up a receiver in the next few days and one solution that makes sense is A.J. Jenkins, a guy that the Cowboys released in the final round of roster cuts. While Street will get a bigger role, the reality is that he is still extremely inexperienced. That said, the guys you should look into getting are:

1) Terrance Williams, an ascending player in his third year who caught ten touchdowns just a season ago.
2) Jason Witten, who is Tony Romo’s most dependable target, and ..
3) Cole Beasley, a guy who has showed time and time again his soft hands.

The reasons are clear to target Witten most of all.

Regardless of Dez’s talent, when the Cowboys need a catch to move the chains, Romo goes in Witten’s direction. Witten has some of the softest hands in the history of the NFL and is a week-in-week-out 100-percent snap player. While Beasley has soft hands as well, he doesn’t get plays designed for him that often. Williams, on the other hand, is an interesting story. Williams has big-play capability, but he relies on his body to catch passes, and the Cowboys saw in Week 1 how bad that can be as he dropped a critical first down in the first half.

With all of this being said, make sure to look into getting these players through waivers over the course of the next week. For the time being, if you’re a DFS player and with Dez on the shelf, you’re likely to be able to get some really cheap buys over the course of the next few weeks in Witten, Williams, and Beasley.

But if you’re deciding between who’s the most reliable target, pick No. 82.

13 Comments

  1. ↓ Post By Karin

    Any thoughts on TE Escobar getting more involved? Red Zone target?

    1. ↓ Post By Alex Dunlap

      His snap percentages are just too low right now to project anything reasonable – we have to see how he’s used in a game post-Dez injury.

    2. ↓ Post By Dorian Colbert

      There are too many decent te options out there right now to take a chance on escobar at this time.

  2. ↓ Post By renourka

    Can’t wait for the waiver wire cheatsheet to come out but I could use some help in my big money 10 team league where I’m sure some of the following FAs won’t be on the sheet… Just lost Dez and Ellington so how should I be using my #1 waiver priority tonight? I have an extra roster spot after moving DEZ to the IR spot so I can add someone without a drop but also would you make any other add/drops? Had the 2nd highest points total this week thanks to you guys!

    10 Team PPR

    (1) QB: Rivers
    (3) WR: Julio Jones, Hopkins, D. Adams (Stevie Johnson, Royal)
    (2) RB: Ingram, D. Martin (Ellington*, Vereen)
    (1) TE: Rudolph
    (1) FLEX: Abdullah
    Bench total : (5)
    IR: Dez Bryant*

    Best available:
    QB: E. Manning, Stafford, Tannehill, Palmer, A. Smith, Cutler, Dalton, Flacco, Bortles
    RB: Spiller, T. Mason, Duke Johnson, Sproles, D. Williams, K. Davis, Sims, Hillman,D. Robinson, D. Johnson, F. Jackson, M. Jones, D. Lewis, K. Robinson, C. Artis-Payne, M. Ball, Chris Johnson, Karlos Williams
    WR: P. Harvin (Thurs), Latimer, T. Williams, Hurns, Beasley, N. Washington, Baldwin, Crabtree, Perriman, LaFell, Lockett, Amendola, B. Coleman
    TE: D. Walker, J. Thomas, H. Miller, J. Reed, Fleener, J. Hill, A. Seferian-Jenkins, Rodgers, Clay, Ebron, L. Green

    1. ↓ Post By Alex Dunlap

      is Eifert available? It’s looking like he’s gonna beast.

      1. ↓ Post By renourka

        Nope Eiffert isn’t available and I listed all the relevant FAs I could so should I be adding T. Williams or another WR with my #1 waiver or maybe save my priority for Harvin who will be available Thurs? I could drop maybe Royal for one of those RBs like Spiller or Mason?

        Also should I be replacing Rudolph?

        1. ↓ Post By Dorian Colbert

          yes, i’d add williams for sure. i’d drop royal for spiller too. rudolph had a decent game considering everything else. if you can get reed, i’d probably do it for him.

          1. Post By renourka

            Thanks for the reply Trashman! So now the question is who do I prioritize adding first? Terrance Williams or Spiller? Obviously with the #1 waiver I’ll get whoever guaranteed but the second guy won’t be a sure thing…

          2. Post By Dorian Colbert

            seems like you need more help at rb..

          3. Post By renourka

            Turns out the league waiver settings actually reset weekly in inverse order based on standings which I didn’t realize?! So ended up with Spiller dropping Royal and got Jordan Reed as well so with my free roster spot should I pickup another RB like Mason? Or snag the best WR available which according waiver wire cheatsheet recommends adding B. Coleman… however I just dropped Royal like I said so between those two WRs, who should I be adding?

  3. ↓ Post By Otis

    Tom Brady appears to have a terrible matchup at the Bills. My other option is Cutler. Who should I start? Dalton is available in my league. My opponent does have Gronkowski so I’m not sure if I should leave Brady to negate Gronk. Thanks.

    1. ↓ Post By Dorian Colbert

      it’s a division game so that can mitigate the advantages you’d get from a good defense sometimes. I’m running Brady out there.

  4. ↓ Post By rw-O98Zh512W

    Should I start Eiffert or Olsen this week?

Leave a Reply