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.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (foot) is expected to play vs. the Giants today. But Schefter adds that, "Dallas could have a slightly more cautious approach with him" as he battles that partially torn plantar fascia. It's tough to project exactly how much work Pollard will get today, making him a risky fantasy play.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (foot) is questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Giants. He got in limited practices on Thursday and Friday. It sounds like Pollard is on track to return for this one, but it’s unclear how much volume he’ll get and how effective he’ll be with that partially torn plantar fascia.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (foot) returned to a limited practice on Thursday. It sounds like he's on track to play vs. the Giants this weekend, but his volume and effectiveness is uncertain due to that partially torn plantar fascia.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (foot) was listed as a non-participant on Wednesday. It's a surprise after HC Mike McCarthy said that Pollard would take part in the walkthrough-style practice. His availability for Sunday's game vs. the Giants remains uncertain.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (foot) will return to practice on Wednesday. It'll be "more of a walkthrough-type practice," HC Mike McCarthy said. But this still sets Pollard up to play vs. the Giants on Sunday. He'll, of course, carry elevated risk playing through the partially torn plantar fascia in his left foot.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (foot) is inactive for today’s game vs. Washington. That leaves only Corey Clement and JaQuan Hardy behind Ezekiel Elliott on the depth chart. Zeke should take on a bigger share of the backfield work today -- although we’re still expecting a pass-heavy game plan from Dallas.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (foot) won't play vs. Washington today, according to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer. That leaves Corey Clement as Dallas' #2 RB and should mean an increased role for RB Ezekiel Elliott. Despite his ongoing knee trouble, Zeke looks like a borderline RB1 based on volume alone.
"There isn’t a lot of optimism" for Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (foot) to play against Washington today, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Pollard is "fighting for it," Rapoport adds, and a final decision won't be made until pregame warmups. It's a 1 pm ET kickoff, so we'll get Pollard's status around 11:30 am ET. But he'll be a risky play if he ends up active. If not, expect RB Ezekiel Elliott to take on more volume. Dallas' only other RBs on the active roster are Corey Clement and JaQuan Hardy.
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