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Jackson Sparks discusses RB Tony Pollard as one of the top dynasty fantasy football risers for 2023 after a stellar 2022 fantasy season.
Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard has been one of the earliest-drafted "handcuff" running backs in redraft leagues since he entered the NFL in 2019, but the team was determined to continue using Ezekiel Elliott as a workhorse back. That said, he never truly got to realize his upside since Elliott stayed relatively healthy over that span. However, he flashed a high ceiling on numerous occasions when given touches, so the dynasty community continued to tout him.
In 2022, he finally paid dividends as a strong fantasy asset and running back. Elliott only missed two games last season, but Pollard did enough to show he should be more involved. Now, he's one of the biggest risers in dynasty fantasy football leagues.
In this edition of dynasty risers and fallers, we'll dive into Pollard's 2022 campaign, his dynasty value and trade market, and his 2023 fantasy football outlook. Let's get to it!
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2022 Season Review
In Week 1 against Tampa Bay, Pollard was utilized as the clear backup running back to Elliott, totaling just eight rushing yards on six carries and 14 receiving yards on two catches. However, it didn't take long in the new campaign for him to flash upside once again.
In the Week 2 matchup with the Bengals, Pollard rushed nine times for 43 yards and a touchdown, adding four receptions on seven targets for 55 yards. He scored 17.3 half-PPR fantasy points – posting an RB3 finish.
Pollard's game logs from Week 3 to Week 7 yielded RB24, RB70, RB20, RB28, and RB24 weekly finishes – but Elliott suffered a knee injury in Week 7, officially setting up Tony Pollard season. His first start of the year came against the lowly Chicago Bears, where he handled 14 carries and turned them into 131 rushing yards and three rushing scores – good for 33.2 fantasy points. After the team's Week 9 bye, he'd pick up right where he left off.
Elliott also missed week 10's game against Dallas and Pollard rushed 22 times for 115 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 13 yards. Zeke would return for the drumming of the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11, but Pollard out-touched him 21 to 16 and racked up 189 yards and two receiving touchdowns -- good for his first overall RB1 performance of the year. This game signaled the Dallas backfield would now see more of an even split.
The former Memphis Tiger had a down week against the New York Giants after that, but he still saw 20 touches in his RB39 performance.
From Week 13 to Week 16, Pollard finished as a top-six weekly running back twice and didn't fall beyond the RB22 spot. Unfortunately, the Cowboys held Pollard out of the Week 17 fantasy championship round game, but at his preseason average draft position of the RB34 spot, he more than paid off for his fantasy managers.
Overall, Pollard tallied 1,007 rushing yards on 193 attempts (5.2 YPC) and caught 39 of his 55 targets for 371 yards. He totaled 12 touchdowns on his way to an RB7 seasonal finish. Per Playerprofiler.com data, Pollard finished as a top-10 RB in fantasy points per touch/target (1.0), yards per touch (5.9), breakaway run rate (8.8%), yards per route run (1.82), and yards created per touch (3.30).
Tony Pollard Dynasty Value/Market
While player valuations are going to vary widely from league to league, KeepTradeCut.com is a helpful resource for getting an idea of what a player's value might be. These crowdsourced rankings have Pollard as the dynasty RB12 and the 43rd most valuable player or draft pick overall (single-QB leagues). At this time last year (April 13), Pollard was valued as the RB29.
Tony Pollard Dynasty Value
He sits near Najee Harris, Javonte Williams, Davante Adams, and T.J. Hockenson in the overall rankings now that Elliott has officially been released by the Cowboys. He has all the makings of a top-six dynasty running back, but the threat of Dallas bringing in a big-name RB like Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs is likely causing the masses to proceed with caution.
2023 Fantasy Football Outlook
In early FFPC draft ADP, Pollard is coming off the board at the RB11 spot (25.33 overall). The results of the 2023 NFL Draft will affect his ADP no matter what, but high-stakes drafters are likely taking the discount on his upside with the possibility of him being replaced hanging in the balance. If the Cowboys don't select a running back in the first two rounds of the upcoming draft, Pollard will likely leapfrog Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry, Breece Hall, and Nick Chubb – at least.
If he's the full-fledged workhorse back in the explosive Dallas offense led by Dak Prescott, he has an overall RB1 upside in 2023. He checks all the boxes of a high-end RB1: He plays in a great offense, he's an explosive and efficient runner, and he has high-end receiving upside. Now that Elliott is gone, he could have more chances to score touchdowns at the goal line, too. The Cowboys franchise-tagged Pollard, meaning he's taking up the sixth-most cap space among RBs in the NFL. Surely, Dallas will want to heavily utilize him.
On the flip side, the Cowboys adding Bijan Robinson would shatter his value and have a dramatic negative impact on his ADP. He'd likely be nothing more than a part-time back as the University of Texas running back takes over the full-time role. Those who like the draft fantasy teams before the NFL draft should take that under consideration, but Pollard could also be a huge steal at ADP if Dallas holds off from the position.
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