Drawing Dead: Can We Salvage Fantasy Football Value in Dallas, Chicago, or Jacksonville?

There have been big changes in Dallas, Chicago, and Jacksonville over the last week. Injuries have led to new quarterbacks taking the reins for the Cowboys and Jaguars, while the Bears made a change at offensive coordinator.

Currently, it looks like these three teams will mostly be fantasy wastelands for the rest of the 2024 season, but is that actually the case?

Let's look at the rest-of-season outlooks for the players on these three teams.

• Quarterback fantasy football rankings
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Is It Time To Bench Our Cowboys?

Surely, the downgrade from Dak Prescott to Cooper Rush wasn't going to be that bad, right? With Prescott done for the season, Dallas was expected to essentially be out of the race for the playoffs, but surely the offense would still put up decent numbers, right?

A lot of those concerns were also assuaged a bit when I saw some numbers about how CeeDee Lamb played the last time he had to play extended time with Rush at QB:

CeeDee Lamb in Weeks 2-6 of 2022 when Cooper rush filled in for Dak:

- 7 catches, 75 yards
- 8 catches, 87 yards, 1 TD
- 6 catches, 97 yards, 1 TD
- 5 catches, 53 yards
- 5 catches, 68 yards https://t.co/tzztZZX0uj

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 4, 2024

These are not great numbers, but you can work with them. So, how did Lamb do in Week 10 with Rush under center? Six catches for 21 yards. Yikes.

Rush was 13-of-23 for just 45 yards in the blowout loss to the Eagles. Trey Lance came into the game and was 4-of-6 for 21 yards with a pick. Just a disaster of a game. Fantasy managers are forced to keep starting Lamb a little longer, but overall, this passing attack has lost all its juice.

Maybe -- maybe -- when Lance inevitably takes over as the starter because head coach Mike McCarthy can't keep rolling Rush out there every week, there will be something there, but betting on Lance to suddenly be an NFL-caliber passer is probably betting on too much.

For now, consider Lamb a low-end WR2, but that could easily change in positive or negative ways depending on how Monday's game against the Texans goes. Maybe this awful game for Dallas was an exception. Maybe the offense figures things out.

Aside from Lamb, the only Cowboys player I'd be willing to keep playing is Rico Dowdle. He had 12 carries for 53 yards against the Eagles while catching three passes for three yards. He'll face more stacked boxes with Prescott out, but Dowdle may hold some value for fantasy managers in the Dallas offense.

Will The Bears Shake Out Of This Funk?

Things aren't going well for the Chicago Bears offense, which has led to the team firing offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Thomas Brown is taking over as interim OC. Can that change shake the team out of this recent run of poor play?

Change in Chicago: Shane Waldron is out as the Bears offensive coordinator, per sources.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 12, 2024

Maybe! The Bears rank near the bottom of the league offensively, so there's not much room to go but up. Things probably can't get worse, but they could just stay the same, which wouldn't be great for fantasy managers with Bears on their roster.

The big issue in Chicago is that the team can't protect quarterback Caleb Williams. The offensive line has been a turnstile, allowing 38 sacks, second only behind the Browns. That includes a nightmare of a game against the Patriots in which Williams was brought down nine times.

Williams has now failed to throw a touchdown pass in three consecutive games, though at least he hasn't been picked off in any of those contests. There's been some suggestion he could be benched for Tyson Bagent, but I can't imagine that happening. Williams is a low-end QB2 going forward.

As for his wide receivers, they're likely to continue to disappoint relative to preseason expectations. DJ Moore has finished outside the top 50 in fantasy points among wide receivers in four consecutive games. He's a low-end WR3 play because of his upside, but his baseline performance is much lower than anticipated.

Rookie Rome Odunze has showcased his skill a few times with two 100-yard games, but he also hasn't surpassed 50 yards in any other games this season. He's going to be a good receiver soon, but the rest of 2024 will likely continue to be uneven. He's a low-end WR4.

Keenan Allen had one really good game where he caught a pair of touchdowns. He hasn't even finished as a WR3 in any other game this season. He's barely on the fantasy radar, likewise for Cole Kmet, who has two smash games but hasn't finished better than TE17 in the other eight games.

As for running backs, D'Andre Swift's talent and volume keep him on the RB2 radar. The Bears will likely continue to rely on him going forward, as he has double-digit carries in every game this season.

Are The Jags Doomed To Obscurity?

Jacksonville's offense hasn't been great this year. The team ranks 21st in points scored and 25th in offensive yards.

Last week against the Vikings, quarterback Trevor Lawrence was out with a shoulder injury, and he's set to miss this week's contest against the Lions as well. Mac Jones drew the start against Minnesota.

With Jones under center, the Jaguars lost 12-7. Jones was 14-of-22 for 111 yards and two picks, though he did finish with a rushing touchdown. Travis Etienne Jr. had 11 carries for 44 yards, while Tank Bigsby had two carries for three yards.

In the passing game, tight end Evan Engram had six catches for 40 yards. Brian Thomas Jr. had two catches for 12 yards. Gabe Davis had one catch for 19 yards. It was a rough showing for this offense.

In Week 11, Engram is the only Jaguars player I'm willing to start, but that changes if Lawrence is back after the Week 12 bye. Lawrence being back would open the run game back, with Etienne and Bigsby being low-end RB3 plays with some upside.

In the receiving game, Thomas would be an upside WR3 play if Lawrence returns. He has three top-10 finishes this season and could be in for some more strong showings. But this all depends on the Jaguars having their quarterback in the fold again.

Doug Pederson once again says he has "no idea" where reports of Trevor Lawrence potentially having season-ending surgery are coming from https://t.co/Fb9vIbmGjF

— Mia O'Brien (@MiaOBrienTV) November 13, 2024

There was some chatter that Lawrence could miss the rest of the season, but it isn't clear if that chatter has any truth to it. Head coach Doug Pederson has refuted it, but The Athletic's Dianna Russini suggested it as a possibility. We'll have to wait and see what happens.

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