Fantasy lessons learned from the Cowboys backfield
Yahoo Fantasy's Matt Harmon and Justin Boone discuss the lessons they learned this season from the Dallas Cowboy's backfield. Hear the full conversation on the "Yahoo Fantasy Forecast" podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
Javonte Williams finished as Running Back 11.
And the dumbest thing about what I said is that, Well, these guys aren't passing game weapons.
Jayden Blue..." Oh, Geez, Jayden Blue.
Like, talk about a guy I want to f just, like, completely forget exists.
The Cowboys forgot he existed, By the way, for the first 17 weeks of the season.
And I think justifiably so.
My favorite sleeper running back, Jayden Blue.
Oh my God.
I, I, I, I...
The only thing I said there that might have Being, you know, actually helpful was that they could lead the NFL in pass attempts.
Dak Prescott, second in the NFL in pass attempts with 600.
Bo Nix, by the way, .612.
I actually did not realize Bo Nix led the NFL.
In pass attempts.
That's, that's kind of crazy.
Anyway, yeah, Javonte Williams, him being a receiving threat in this offense and a receiving option in this offense, was a big reason why he ended up being a guy that was on the field all the time.
Please, let's take Jayden Blue's stats off the screen.
We don't... No one needs to see that.
But, uh, Javonte Williams being a, A passing game threat was a big reason why he ended up finishing as a top-12 running back.
Yeah, for sure.
Just completely got this one wrong.
And we knew from week one, right?
He came out in week one.
Yeah, instant.
He looked great.
Yeah.
He had a great fantasy day, found the end zone a couple of times.
I'm pretty sure.
And it was just like, "Oh no," we're totally missing on this one."
And he was that cheap, cheap back that you could've got and thrown into your lineup as potentially your RB1, More likely your RB2, based on where you were getting him.
Even potentially your flex, and a guy who could help you win some games in fantasy.
I do think that the best part of this Cowboys backfield is, Like, the running joke that we had all season behind the scenes with producer Colin, Where we joked that it was just over for Jayden Blue right from the jump.
He had injuries; he was a healthy scratch.
We kind of kept that going all year long.
Teasing producer Colin, who notoriously, everyone listening, I'm sure, knows, He is a wild Cowboys fan.
But yeah, for Javonte Williams, I don't think it was just us, Harmon.
I think it was.
Like everybody in the industry, it was a lot of people.
Yeah.
I'm not sure I can pinpoint the person.
And still, I don't know about you, but I ended up with him on some teams where it was, Like, reluctantly.
It was like, "Oh, I didn't."
... "Oh my God, I gotta take" I didn't.
...
This guy in, like, the ninth or 10th round.
Like, "I guess he's still there.
Sure, I'll take him."
And then he ends up being, Like a valuable asset for your team, and you feel like a fool.
Even though you're a fool who's winning fantasy games.
So yeah, this is one where I think we tried to sell ourselves on the rookies.
On Blue, on Phil Moffa.
And as you mentioned, Those guys didn't do anything really throughout the season until Week 18.
They both find the end zone.
But there was a reason why this team didn't.
I needed them; I didn't even need to try them really, throughout the year.
I know Blue got an opportunity at one point, but didn't really do much with it.
And that's because Javonte Williams still does have a lot left in the tank and was fantastic.
This season.
And in an offense that we were pretty excited about why didn't we take more shots on the veteran back who's been like, Okay?
Like, I know all the points I made before.
The season, this is a guy that never really produced as, Like a meaningful fantasy player, he always shared his backfield.
So you figured there was going to be somebody else involved.
He totally broke the mold on that this season.
He was the guy, He was able to carry the load, and he came through for fantasy.
So yeah, hats off to him.
And this is one that we were completely wrong.
About.
