Summer Sleeper: Dallas Cowboys

Bruce Matson Posted On August 11, 2016

The Dallas Cowboys are looking to redeem themselves after a horrific 4-12 season, their worst season since 1989. The offense was stagnant due to Tony Romo missing the majority of the season with a broken collar bone. Dez Bryant also missed a considerable amount of time last season due to a foot injury. The quarterback carousel between Brandon Weeden, Matt Cassel and Kellen Moore was the weekly headline in Dallas because their poor play stifled the offense’s ability to move the football causing them to lose games.

The Cowboys took out an extra insurance policy on Romo by paying a hefty premium to acquire Ezekiel Elliott’s talents, by using the fourth overall pick in the draft, a major pickup for the offense as they look to return to their old form for the 2016 season. Dallas is planning to utilize their offensive line which is one of the best units in the league and Elliott to control the clock with the run game. Romo’s health is the major question mark, if he can remain healthy then the offense shouldn’t miss a beat, and should be one of the most productive offenses in the league.

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Brice Butler, WR DAL

Category: Super Deep Sleeper

The Cowboys traded their 2016 fifth-round pick to the Oakland Raiders for Butler and their 2016 sixth round pick last season. The trade helped Dallas provide quality depth on the roster at receiver when Dez Bryant was out of the lineup nursing a foot injury. Butler’s tenure in Dallas started off a little rocky, he injured his hamstring catching a 67-yard pass against the New Orleans Saints during week four, the injury lingered throughout the season causing him to miss nine games. Butler played 88.17 percent of the offensive snaps during the last two games of the season, catching eight passes for 134 yards while averaging 7.05 yards per target.

butler_chart

Butler’s athletic profile suggests that he has the size, speed and athleticism to make an impact for Dallas. He’s one of the fastest receivers on the team, making him the only receiver on the roster who can stretch the defense. Lucky Whitehead is the next fastest receiver on the roster but he usually lines up in the slot and is primarily used on special teams. Butler is an injury away from receiving a large market share of the targets. He can play in both Dez Bryant’s and Terrance Williams’ roles within the offense, proving that his versatility makes him an important asset to the team.

With a strong training camp, Butler has the chance to win a spot in the starting lineup. Incumbent starter, Williams was given the opportunity to put the team on his back last season due to Bryant being out with a broken foot. Williams was inefficient last year with a 55.9 percent catch rate while averaging just 1.70 fantasy points per target. Even though he has chemistry with Tony Romo, it’s obvious that he shouldn’t be a No. 1 receiver, and his lack of athleticism makes it difficult for him to separate from defenders. A few big plays from Butler during the preseason will make the coaching staff find ways to get him on the field more. His size and speed provides a dynamic that the rest of the receiving corps don’t have, and his skill-set could be the perfect complement to Bryant’s game.

It’s quite possible that Dallas could have one of the worst defenses in the league this year. Demarcus Lawrence, Randy Gregory and Rolando McClain are all facing suspensions this season. Gregory is currently in a rehab facility and could incur another suspension. News broke out recently that Rolando McClain’s 10-game suspension was due to testing positive for “purple drank”. The defense finished last season ranked 25th in the league with 31 sacks and that total is expected to drop due to the loss of personnel. The lack of pass rush is going to keep the defense on the field more which means the offense will have to pick up the slack by scoring more points, creating more opportunities in the passing game. Dallas finished last season ranked 23rd in the league with 528 pass attempts and with the defense projecting to take a downward slide in 2016, expect for the passing volume to only increase. More pass attempts equates to more targets to the wide receivers, generating extra opportunities for Butler to carve out a role within the offense.

In 2011, Laurent Robinson, then newly acquired wide receiver through free agency, gelled with Romo, catching 54 receptions for 858 yards and 11 touchdowns while catching 67.5 percent of his targets. Robinson’s situation in 2011 is very comparable to Butler’s current situation, both players were newly acquired acquisitions that only had one training camp to build a rapport with Romo. It’s quite evident that Romo does a good job at distributing the targets which gives Butler a chance to own a large enough market share of the offense to become fantasy relevant. There are a few obstacles that are in Butler’s way, but he has the potential to become fantasy relevant if he can carve out a role with the offense.

According to DLF’s July Rookie ADP, Butler is going undrafted in most leagues, falling past the 265 range in most drafts. This means that he’s basically free in most leagues and he’s more than likely on your waiver wire. He should be an easy throw in on any trade because if he’s on someone’s dynasty roster, more than likely he’s sitting at the end of their bench. Butler is worth a pickup if you have room on your roster, because he’s an injury away, and could catch lightning in bottle if he cracks the starting lineup. If either Bryant or Williams were to go down with an injury, Butler’s dynasty stock would at least double because he would become a startable fantasy asset. Dynasty owners are currently sleeping on Butler because he’s a highly athletic prospect who is a step away from potentially becoming a WR2 in fantasy.

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Bruce Matson

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

I'm a financial counselor for a hospital in South Central Ohio. I graduated from Muskingum University with a bachelor's in business while minoring in Economics and Accounting. I won my first fantasy football title with Jake Plummer as my quarterback.