Cowboys RBs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard both delivered for fantasy football teams in Sunday's win over the Lions. Elliott picked up 57 yards and scored twice among 15 carries. Pollard rushed 12 times for 83 yards and caught 2 passes for 26 more, giving him 109 total yards for the game. The 14 touches were a season high for Pollard. According to Pro Football Focus, he ran 4 more routes than Elliott for the game, marking the 1st time this season that Pollard has led in that category. We'll see whether that becomes a trend (as it probably should). Dallas gets positive RB matchups with the Bears and Packers the next 2 games, sandwiching a Week 9 bye.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard matched his season highs for opportunities (carries + targets) and touches in Sunday night's loss to the Eagles. He ran for 44 yards on 11 carries and added 2 catches for 8 yards among 3 targets. The 14 opportunities and 13 touches matched his totals from the Week 3 win over the Giants. Pollard's 40% snap share fell right in line with the previous 4 games, however, and still well short of the 55% he played in the season-opening loss to the Buccaneers. It would seem fair to expect more opportunities for Pollard in trailing game scripts, though we remain surprised that Dallas hasn't integrated him further into the offense across situations. RB Ezekiel Elliott did run well in the loss to Philly, gaining 81 yards and scoring among his 13 carries. Elliott added 1 catch for 5 yards on his lone target.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard delivered a 57-yard TD run in Sunday's win over the Rams ... but not a whole lot else. He rushed just 7 other times in the game (for 29 yards) distantly trailing Ezekiel Elliott's 22 attempts (for 78 yards). Elliott also continued to run ahead of Pollard as a receiver: 9 routes to 4, according to Pro Football Focus numbers. We'd love to see Pollard's displayed explosiveness force Dallas coaches to give him more touches. But his continued limited playing time makes Pollard bench fodder in most fantasy football leagues.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (illness) is active for today’s game vs. the Rams. We’re expecting him to play his usual role behind RB Ezekiel Elliott.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (illness) is expected to play vs. the Rams today, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. He popped up on the injury report on Friday and did not practice, but we're not expecting Pollard's role or effectiveness to be impacted today.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (illness) is questionable for this weekend's game vs. the Rams. He popped up on the injury report on Friday and did not practice. Players usually play through illnesses, but stay tuned to Shark Bites for further updates on Pollard's Week 5 status.
Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott tallied 81 scoreless yards in Sunday's win over the Commanders. He took 19 carries for 49 yards (2.6 per rush) and caught both of his targets for 32 yards. Nearly all of that (31) came on a single play. The 21 opportunities, however, marked Elliott's largest total and greatest share of his split with Tony Pollard through 4 games. Elliott garnered 65.6% of their combined opportunities (carries + targets) against Washington. That followed shares of 60%, 54.8% and 53.3% the first 3 weeks. We'll how that work split proceeds. Pollard managed only 6 rushing yards on 8 carries against Washington and 2 yards on his lone catch among 3 targets. He's not usable in most fantasy football formats right now.
RB Tony Pollard paced the Dallas backfield in production in Week 3, taking 13 carries for 105 yards. He saw the Cowboys’ first attempt of the night vs. New York but was narrowly out-carried by Zeke Elliott (15-73) overall. Elliott handled 3 of Dallas’ 4 goal line rushing opportunities, punching in 1 score. And, after seeing 7 targets in Week 1, Pollard garnered only 1 against the Giants. This backfield split will remain in place going forward, with Elliott the slightly better bet for weekly carries. Pollard’s receiving game involvement should rebound a bit Sunday vs. Washington. Also note that Dak Prescott (thumb) should return over the next couple of weeks.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with his thumb injury, ESPN's Todd Archer reports. Prescott is meeting with a hand specialist on Monday, but the expectation is that he'll need a pin and plate inserted to stabilize his fractured joint. The short end of that 6-8 week timetable would have Prescott back for Week 8. But Dallas has a Week 9 bye, so Week 10 might be the most likely return date for Dak. His absence is obviously a big blow to all of the Cowboys' skill-position players. Prescott is cuttable in fantasy leagues without an IR spot.
The hope for anyone drafting Cowboys RB Tony Pollard in a fantasy football league is that he opens the year with a significant increase in receiving work. It sounds like OC Kellen Moore wants that, too. “There is a ton of it on film. A lot of it is coming back to him,” Moore told ESPN's Todd Archer, referring to the receiving skills Pollard displayed in college. “I think he does have more than just that. He’s not going to run [just] the running back route tree, the quick game and just kind of the completion plays. He can stretch people vertically, and I think that will be a huge advantage for him to put people in conflict of how they want to handle him.” There is room for Pollard to factor into a passing game that lost Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson, and will at least see Michael Gallup (ACL) limited to open the year. Obviously, the ultimate ceiling for Pollard would include an Ezekiel Elliott injury. But he sits higher in our RB rankings than previous years because of the expected growth in his receiving role.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard has been "privately tutored" on playing slot receiver by offensive quality control coach Kyle Valero this offseason. "Just details like route-running, getting in and out of breaks, why we’re running certain plays and what’s the meaning behind them,” Pollard said. “We’re getting into the depth of why we’re doing the things that we’re doing, so it will make more sense in the big picture. …It just shows the hard work that I’ve put in. In the offseason, during the season, it’s not going unnoticed. Guys are noticing the things that I can do with the ball to help the team, just knowing that I can contribute more and more to the team.” Pollard ranked 3rd in yards per route run last year among 51 qualifying RBs, and the Cowboys are dangerously thin at WR to open the season. So we're buying some slot usage for Pollard. That'll give him a chance to be a fantasy starter even behind a healthy Ezekiel Elliott.
Cowboys OC Kellen Moore confirmed his plans to increase RB Tony Pollard’s role in 2022. “He’s a guy that we want to get the ball to,” Moore said of the contract-year back. “He’s had a ton of success when he does get those opportunities. I think the running back role is one thing, certainly when Zeke and him can kind of tag-team that role, but then it’s another opportunity for him to expand that role and play in some different positions, out in space and some of the things that certainly he’s capable of doing. I think the more we expand those roles, the more opportunities he’ll be able to get out there and get touches.” Pollard, with an ADP at mid-Round 7, is one of our favorite RB3 targets.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones gave his thoughts on what the backfield should look like in a Saturday interview with NFL Network. "We gotta have Tony Pollard out there. No, seriously, Zeke's gotta be our feature, and he is our feature," Jones said. "We can feature him in a lot of different ways ... So it's critical that we make Zeke -- because he's capable of being that -- really the focus of what we're doing. Now then, Pollard, there's plenty of room for Pollard. There's plenty of room for Pollard when Zeke's in there. Pollard needs to get the ball." There's only 1 ball to go around for these 2 backs, so it'll be interesting to see exactly how touches are divvied this season. But it's clear that the Cowboys currently have no plans of significantly scaling back Elliott's volume.
The Cowboys used RB Tony Pollard in a multitude of ways on the 1st day of training camp and are "committed to making Pollard a viable weapon in the offense," insider Clarence Hill writes. "Pollard opened 11-on-11 drills with the first-team offense as slot receiver. He ended practice as the primary third-down back in the 2-minute drill with [Ezekiel] Elliott on the sidelines." Hill adds that he expects Dallas to use Elliott and Pollard on the field together this season. We hear that a lot this time of year, but it certainly makes sense in this situation considering how good Pollard is and the fact that the Cowboys lost WR Amari Cooper and will likely be without WR Michael Gallup early on. We know Pollard is at least an elite fantasy handcuff, but he's also capable of providing standalone value this season.
Cowboys beat writer Jon Machota believes RB Tony Pollard is in for his most productive season yet. Machota points to the departures of Amari Cooper, Cedrick Wilson and Blake Jarwin as reason for a boosted workload. Last year, Pollard totaled 169 touches in 15 games. The contract-year back currently holds a reasonable ADP of 8.04.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (foot) was a full participant in Wednesday's practice. That's confirmation that he'll be available for Sunday's Wild Card game vs. the 49ers.
Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones said Monday that RB Tony Pollard (foot) will be "ready to roll" in Saturday's Wild Card game vs. the 49ers. It's confirmation that Pollard was held out of the regular-season finale as a precaution. Pollard averaged 7.7 carries and 3.7 targets over his final 3 games and is likely looking at a similar workload in the playoffs.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (foot) has been downgraded to out for Saturday night's game vs. the Eagles. It's unclear if he suffered a setback with that foot or is just getting some rest with Dallas having already won the NFC East. Even with Pollard out, don't expect the Cowboys to overwork RB Ezekiel Elliott on Saturday. Corey Clement will mix in as the #2 RB.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (foot) is active for today’s game vs. the Giants. He’ll be playing through a partially torn plantar fascia in his left foot, so his role and effectiveness are in question. Pollard is a risky fantasy play today.
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