Pollard has the chance to be a breakout Fantasy running back this season, and he's worth drafting as early as Round 1 in all leagues. He certainly would be a bargain if he fell past the middle of Round 2 in one-QB formats. Pollard's main competition for touches is rookie Deuce Vaughn, Rico Dowdle and suspended veteran Ronald Jones; Ezekiel Elliott, who scored 12 touchdowns for Dallas last season, is on the Patriots. Given the others in Dallas' backfield, Pollard has a clear path to over 250 touches with a shot at as many as 1,700 total yards and 12 touchdowns. That would change if the Cowboys add to their group, but they didn't do that at all over the summer and didn't bother to give Elliott a nice contract at any point. At full health after a fracture late last year, Pollard has league-winning potential that shouldn't be ignored.
Pollard carried the ball 13 times for 79 yards and a touchdown and caught all six of his targets for 24 yards in Thursday's 45-10 rout of the Commanders.
The running back was fairly quiet through the first half. but Pollard churned out a seven-yard TD run right before halftime and then began to pile up some yardage as the Cowboys put the game away. It's the first time in five games since Dallas' bye that the running back has topped 100 scrimmage yards, while the touchdown was his second in as many games and fourth of the year. Pollard hasn't had the huge breakout projected for him in the wake of Ezekiel Elliott's departure, but he still has time to put together a big finish to 2023, with a Week 13 home tilt against a vulnerable Seahawks run defense next on the schedule.
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Breaks touchdown drought
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Pollard rushed 12 times for 61 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 33-10 win over the Panthers. He also caught four of five targets for 19 yards.
Pollard's performance was highlighted by a 21-yard touchdown rush to begin the fourth quarter, his first touchdown since Week 1. With his rushing yardage also qualifying as his most since Week 3, Pollard took advantage of a favorable matchup Sunday. He'll strive to keep his positive momentum going in Thursday's game against the Commanders, who allowed 140 yards and two touchdowns to Giants tailback Saquon Barkley in Week 11.
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Bust Candidate (Lineup Decisions)
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This is (another) make-or-break week for Tony Pollard, but no one should be surprised if it comes with his workload being reduced. Against a tougher opponent Pollard would be a borderline bench for Fantasy, but the Panthers have made nearly every running back they've faced look good. Hopefully Pollard isn't an exception. I'd give him one more week as a RB2 and use him ahead of Derrick Henry, Najee Harris and Isiah Pacheco.
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Contrarian DFS Play
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The discourse around Pollard this week is entirely negative and for good reason. But this Panthers defense allowed 17 points to D'Onta Foreman, 12 to Salvon Ahmed, and two touchdowns a piece to Tony Jones and Tyler Allgeier. If Pollard is ever going to get going, this is the week.
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Left out of offensive eruption
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Pollard carried the ball 15 times for 55 yards in Sunday's 49-17 rout of the Giants.
Seemingly every other Cowboys skill player got into the end zone Sunday, even No. 2 RB Rico Dowdle, but Pollard once again couldn't get anything going. The fifth-year back hasn't scored a touchdown since Dallas' opener, and his 55 rushing yards was actually his highest output in that category since Week 3. Pollard will try to break out of his slump Week 11 against a Panthers defense that ranked 28th in rushing yards allowed per game coming into Sunday.
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Quiet again in Week 9 loss
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Pollard carried the ball 12 times for 51 yards and caught three of five passes for 12 yards in Sunday's 28-23 loss to the Eagles.
The running back found some success against a tough Philly front seven in the second half and wound up averaging a respectable 4.3 yards per carry, but Pollard still found himself taking on a secondary role in the Dallas offense even in a competitive contest. Since seeing huge volume early in the season, he's gotten 15 touches or less in four of the last five games, averaging just 70.4 scrimmage yards a game and failing to get into the end zone. In fact, Pollard somehow hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 1, when he ran in two TDs against the Giants in a 40-0 rout. A rematch against the Cowboys' NFC East rivals from New York in Week 10 could be just what Pollard needs to get rolling again.
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Left out of offensive outburst
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Pollard rushed the ball 12 times for 53 yards in Sunday's 43-20 win over the Rams. He added one reception for two yards.
The Cowboys scored four offensive touchdowns and racked up 387 total yards, yet Pollard contributed little to the showing. He was held to 13 total touches -- his second-lowest mark of the season -- and most concerning was his lack of involvement as a pass catcher. After tallying at least 70 rushing yards in each of his first three games, Sunday's effort marked his highest total in four contests since.
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Excels as receiver Monday
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Pollard rushed 15 times for 30 yards and secured six of seven targets for 80 yards in the Cowboys' 20-17 win over the Chargers on Monday.
As his final line implies, Pollard was stonewalled on the ground, but he salvaged his fantasy night as a receiver with numbers that were all good for second on the Cowboys. The versatile back's receiving yardage total was also a season high and boosted by a 60-yard reception early in the fourth quarter on which he almost broke free for a touchdown. Pollard will aim to snap a three-game streak of sub-50-yard rushing performances when the Cowboys return from a Week 7 bye to tangle with the Rams at home on Oct. 29.
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Upgrades to full practice
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Pollard (shoulder) was a full practice participant Friday, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.
The quick return to full participation after one limited session suggests Pollard should be ready for his usual workload Monday night against the Chargers. Only two teams have allowed more fantasy points per game to RBs, and Pollard has dominated the Dallas backfield work in competitive situations this year.
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Limited to begin Week 6 prep
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Pollard was a limited participant in Thursday's practice due to a shoulder injury, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.
Pollard is making his first appearance of the season on the injury report, but unless the Cowboys reveal that he hurt his shoulder during Thursday's session, his limitations to begin Week 6 prep might have been maintenance-related. In any case, Pollard will have two more opportunities to upgrade to full activity in practice before the Cowboys decide whether to give him a designation heading into Monday's game against the Chargers.
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Stymied in blowout loss
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Pollard had eight carries for 29 yards and four receptions on five targets for 35 yards in Sunday's 42-10 loss to the 49ers.
The Cowboys fell behind early and were forced into a one-dimensional game plan, resulting in a season-low eight carries for Pollard. Last week, the 26-year-old's touches were limited because the Cowboys were on the other side of a blowout game script, resulting in two pedestrian fantasy scores following a hot start to the season. Pollard will attempt to get back on track as a top fantasy option in a soft matchup against the Chargers next Monday.
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Quiet in blowout win
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Pollard rushed the ball 11 times for 47 yards in Sunday's 38-3 win over the Patriots. He added three receptions for 13 yards.
Most of the Cowboys' top skill-position players had quiet days as the defense scored two of the team's four touchdowns while another came in garbage time with backups on the field. As a result, even given a fairly efficient effort, Pollard's volume and production were limited. Entering Sunday's game, Pollard had either scored multiple touchdowns or topped 100 total yards in all three games this season, so there's little reason for concern moving forward.
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Big yardage in Week 3 loss
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Pollard carried the ball 23 times for 122 yards in Sunday's 28-16 loss to the Cardinals. He also caught all three of his targets for minus-1 yard.
The running back had his most productive game of the season on the ground, but it was backup Rico Dowdle who scored the Cowboys' only TD of the day. Pollard's numbers were even more impressive considering he was working behind an offensive line missing three starters, including Zack Martin (ankle). Pollard faces a tough test in Week 4 against a Patriots defense that just held Breece Hall and the Jets to 38 total rushing yards.
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Tops 100 scrimmage yards
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Pollard carried the ball 25 times for 72 yards and caught seven of eight targets for 37 yards in Sunday's 30-10 win over the Jets. He also ran in a two-point conversion.
While he wasn't able to score a TD, something he did twice in Dallas' opener, it was still another very productive afternoon for the team's No. 1 running back. Pollard's workload, even in another blowout victory, is especially encouraging, but the Cowboys again face the prospect of not needing to keep their foot on the gas pedal in the second half during Week 3's road matchup against the 0-2 Cardinals, which could limit his fantasy ceiling.
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Scores twice in blowout victory
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Pollard rushed 14 times for 70 yards and two touchdowns while adding two receptions (on three targets) for 12 yards in Sunday's 40-0 win over the Giants.
Pollard was the big producer on offense with two scores for a Dallas team that looked to be miles ahead of its opponent Sunday. The 2022 breakout star dominated the backfield touches as expected, only ceding touches to backups Deuce Vaughn (6-8-0) and Rico Dowdle (6-24-0) in garbage time of the blowout victory. Pollard will face a tougher challenge when Dallas takes on another opponent from New York next week, but the talented back will remain a strong play against the Jets on Sunday.
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Coach confident in recovery
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Dallas coach Mike McCarthy is pleased with how Pollard (ankle) has looked in training camp so far, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports. "He's put his foot in the ground on a number of runs, and I definitely think he's back."
The running back underwent a tightrope procedure in January to address the high-ankle sprain he suffered in the Cowboys' divisional-round loss to the 49ers, but Pollard's recovery has gone without a hitch and he remains on track to play Week 1 against the Giants. With Ezekiel Elliott no longer on the roster, Pollard is the unquestioned starter for an offense expected to be one of the more potent units in the league. Heading into his fifth NFL campaign, the Memphis product will be looking to top the 1,007 rushing yards, 1,378 scrimmage yards and 12 total touchdowns on 232 touches -- all career highs -- he accumulated over 16 games in 2022.
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Will ramp up workload
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Pollard said Wednesday that the Cowboys' plan is for him to be eased into training camp, but he noted that he feels "pretty much at 100 percent," Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.
Pollard has been medically cleared for the start of camp, but the Cowboys will take a cautious approach to his initial practice workload. The standout back underwent surgery in January to address a broken fibula and high-ankle sprain, but the team seemingly doesn't have any concerns about his availability for Week 1. Pollard looks primed to operate as a focal point of the Cowboys offense while playing out the 2023 campaign on the franchise tag, but in the early portion of camp, some additional first-team reps could be up for grabs among Malik Davis, Ronald Jones and Deuce Vaughn.
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Cleared for start of camp
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Pollard (ankle) is medically cleared for the start of training camp, Patrick Walker of the Cowboys' official site reports.
The Cowboys were confident enough in Pollard's recovery to give him a $10.1 million franchise tag in early March, less than two months after he'd suffered a broken fibula and high-ankle sprain. The running back signed his tag a couple weeks later and doesn't sound too upset that subsequent negotiations never yielded a long-term contract, essentially betting on himself to rebound from the injury and have another big year. The Cowboys certainly seem to be counting on it given that Ronald Jones is the only veteran RB they've brought in since releasing Ezekiel Elliott, who had 231 carries and 12 TDs last year even as Pollard took on a larger role. The Cowboys hope the Memphis product can now take on more volume without losing too much off his excellent efficiency stats (career averages of 5.1 yards per carry and 8.3 yards per catch).
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Long-term deal deadline passes
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Pollard (ankle) and the Cowboys did not agree on long-term contract prior to Monday's 4:00 p.m. ET deadline for franchise-tagged players, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Pollard is thus locked in to play out the upcoming season on the one-year, $10.1 million deal he signed in the form of the franchise tag back in March. By all accounts, Pollard is ahead of schedule in his recovery from surgery to address a high-ankle sprain and broken fibula in his left leg and is expected to be ready for training camp. The 26-year-old is poised to lead Dallas' backfield as the team's clear No. 1 option when back to full health, especially with Ezekiel Elliott having been released earlier this offseason. Pollard was able to compile 1,378 yards from scrimmage and 12 total touchdowns in 16 games last season, while averaging 5.2 YPC, and he looks primed for a career-high workload during the 2023 campaign.
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Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Expected to play on franchise tag
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Pollard (ankle) and the Cowboys are not expected to agree to terms on a long-term contract by Monday's 4:00 p.m. ET deadline, Jane Slater of NFL Network reports.
Pollard signed his $10.1 million franchise tag back in March, and Slater reports that he and Dallas haven't since engaged in extensive talks on a long-term deal. The 26-year-old is reportedly ahead of schedule in his recovery from ankle surgery and on track for training camp, after having suffered a high-ankle sprain and broken fibula in his left leg back in January. Following Ezekiel Elliott's offseason release, Pollard stands alone atop the Cowboys' RB depth chart and appears primed to build upon his 1,378 yards from scrimmage from 2022 with a career-high workload during the 2023 campaign, after which he will be slated to hit free agency. Malik Davis, Ronald Jones, Deuce Vaughn, Rico Dowdle and Hunter Luepke are behind him in the backfield.
