The fantasy football community already thinks the young and spry Tony Pollard is superior to the aging bell-cow Ezekiel Elliott. But, with Zeke fresh off another 1,000-yard season while playing through a partially torn PCL and his massive contract hovering over him, the veteran will remain the Cowboys’ workhorse.
On the other hand, Pollard is electric with the ball in his hands and has a pass-catching pedigree that few running backs possess in the league. During his three-year playing career as a Swiss Army Knife at Memphis, Pollard snagged 104 receptions for 1,292 yards and nine touchdowns.
“I’m open to anything just being on the field, being able to make the most of my opportunities,” Pollard said during minicamp. “If I have to line up in the slot a little more, whatever it takes, I’m ready to do it. . . . You have to make a guy or two miss and I’m off to the races.”
Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram noted on the first day of OTAs, Pollard and Elliott lined up in the backfield together. Most importantly, Pollard took reps from the slot and went through individual receiver drills and running back drills during practice.
“It’s definitely coming back to me now,” Pollard added. “I’m more comfortable.”
It makes sense for Kellen Moore to get creative and find ways to get a multi-faceted weapon on the field. The team traded away Amari Cooper during the offseason, Michael Gallup could miss a few games while he recovers from ACL surgery, and Cedrick Wilson walked to Miami in free agency. Those losses created a gaping hole of question marks alongside CeeDee Lamb, ‘led’ by James Washington, Jalen Tolbert, and Noah Brown.
The Cowboys’ offense will likely take a step back in 2022, but if Moore can increase Pollard’s 33.7 percent snap share, 38.9 percent opportunity share (team carries + targets), and 8.1 percent target share, then they could be more dynamic than they were in 2022.
This isn’t meant to take anything away from Elliott’s 2022 fantasy outlook because he is criminally underrated right now, but The Wolf has Pollard at RB29 (+3 vs ECR), while Zeke sits at RB15 (+3) on his 2022 Fantasy Rankings.
