Cowboys-Giants DFS Showdown: Injury and Depth Analysis

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Cooper Rush remains under center for the injured Dak Prescott after faring decently well last week. There isn’t any rushing upside to lean on as he only rushed once, but his arm looked serviceable, and he took the opportunities given. He threw 31 passes last week, and there certainly is a higher upside tonight. Daniel Jones hasn’t eclipsed 200 yards passing in either of the first two games, but he offers an intriguing rushing upside as he ran for a combined 16 times.

Despite the speculation that he could be overtaken, Ezekiel Elliott will be the lead back for this football team. About 15 carries is a reasonable expectation with the potential for more. A target or two is possible, but the receiving upside out of the backfield belongs to Tony Pollard, coming off of a seven-target game. Pollard could still approach ten carries, but the potential optimal upside we seek would likely come with the passing game. Rico Dowdle has been active in both games as the RB3 but has not garnered a single target or carry.

Saquon Barkley will be the workhorse back for the Giants as he looks to be at full health. Around twenty carries is the bar we’re looking at, and we know how big of a factor he can be in the red zone. He has also combined for 11 targets, so expect some additional PPR points. Matt Breida is the only other running back who has seen some volume in this offense, but that has only come at a combined six carries and one target. Hard to picture a burst out of volume out of him tonight unless Barkley goes down. 

Michael Gallup looks inactive tonight, giving us another week of a messy wide receiver room. CeeDee Lamb is the solidified WR1, as he has already seen double-digit targets in his first two games. In Gallup’s absence, Noah Brown has carved out an excellent role to begin the year as the WR2. He has combined for 14 targets which gives a strong sense that he will again be a significant factor in this offense. We have not seen a third receiver have a prominent role in this offense so far this season, but Dennis Houston should be elevated from the practice squad and will likely see the third most snaps like he did the first two games. Simi Fehoko will be the primary rotational receiver who could potentially see a target or two. KaVontae Turpin will only get minimal snaps at receiver, given his primary role as the returner.

The Giants’ receiving room is challenging to pinpoint as expected WR1 Kadarius Toney has been on a snap count due to injury and is listed as doubtful tonight. Sterling Shepard has looked to be the WR1 and is coming off a double-digit target performance in Week 2. Richie James has carved out a role as the WR2 as he has seen six targets in the first two games. David Sills V needs to be mentioned as the likely WR3, as he saw 92% of the Week 2 snaps but didn’t register a single target. That’s a lot of running around! Darius Slayton could also see rotational snaps, with Kenny Golladay potentially needing to be on the field with Toney out. Still, he only received two snaps in Week 2, which tells you all you need to know about how the staff views him.

Dalton Schultz will be one of the offense’s primary receiving threats, with a ceiling approaching double-digit snaps. He should be out there for a minimum of 90% of the snaps. Daniel Bellinger and Tanner Hudson will be the two primary tight ends for New York, but neither will have a dominant role in this offense, with the ceiling for either only being three targets.