2016 Fantasy Football Preseason Takeaway: The Dak Prescott effect

You already know you can't start the Fantasy season with Tony Romo on your roster.

But what about Dak Prescott?

Prescott is on the minds of Fantasy owners after the Cowboys announced Romo suffered a broken bone in his back. While the team didn't release a timetable for his return, multiple outlets suggest Romo missing at least six weeks, potentially through the team's Week 7 bye and returning Week 8 against Philadelphia.

In the meantime, it's Prescott's show. By the looks of things this preseason, Prescott is more ready than anyone could have known.

Note that Prescott has averaged 9.1 yards per pass attempt with one of every 10 completions going for a touchdown. He's also averaged 7.6 yards per rush. That's better than he did in four years at Mississippi State.

But ... and man I hate to be the wet blanket ... it's all happened in the preseason. Defenses tend to play very basic schemes and strategies in the preseason because the games don't matter.

You already know defensive coordinators in line to play the Cowboys are drooling over the possibilities of confusing the rookie. For instance, in Week 1 the Cowboys host the Giants. Last year's Giants defense went 5-1 against "running quarterbacks," losing only to Cam Newton and the Panthers. Only two - Newton and Colin Kaepernick - had 20-plus Fantasy points.

As bland as preseason defenses may be, no one can take away what Prescott did at Seattle. Against that amped-up defense without Dez Bryant, Prescott completed 17 of 23 passes for 116 yards with no turnovers and a really fortuitous touchdown to Jason Witten. It's not brilliance, but it's not a harbinger of doom.

Also, it's not like Romo's injury makes the Cowboys defense any better. With several players suspended to begin the year, Dallas' defense figures to be leaky. That should mean Dallas being forced to throw in the second half. If that was a built-in factor for Romo's Fantasy value, shouldn't it be for Prescott, too?

If putting him at the end of your Fantasy bench just to see what happens in September sounds like fun, do it. It's Fantasy and it's your team.

However, he shouldn't replace any player, including a quarterback, who could otherwise help your team OR help your opponents' teams. Remember, if you're picking up Dak you're dropping someone you drafted. Is that a risk you're willing to take? Really, that depends on the player you're dropping.

I wouldn't cut Derek Carr, Andy Dalton, Blake Bortles or Kirk Cousins for Prescott. But some schlubby handcuff or a receiver who will never crack your roster? Go ahead and Dak yourself.

The impact on the Cowboys offense shouldn't be terrible. Prescott throws a nice enough ball to assume Bryant, Terrance Williams, Cole Beasley and Jason Witten won't see a nosedive in their stats like they did last season. Bryant remains a Top 6 Fantasy receiver but the quarterback issue makes him a risk compared to DeAndre Hopkins and A.J. Green. He's still a safer pick than Jordy Nelson and Allen Robinson, who have been behind him for much of the summer in Fantasy drafts anyway.

Ezekiel Elliott might actually benefit from Prescott's presence. Here's a tweet I put out there just recently:

I think Zeke will have a big yr with Romo but if Dak ever played, was accurate & allowed to run, that zone read would be NASTY behind OL.

-- Dave Richard (@daverichard) August 26, 2016

Now we're going to see it. The track record of running backs that play alongside running quarterbacks is very good. Ask Alfred Morris in his rookie year. Now Elliott should do well regardless of his quarterback but the threat of Prescott running will help. Of course the offensive line helps a ton, too. Just as I said earlier this week, Elliott is still a first-round pick.

This is going to get interesting. If Prescott goes out there and stinks, Romo's return will come with much fanfare. If Prescott goes out there and shines, we could very well see the start of a new era in Dallas.

Dak. Zeke. Dez. The new triplets?!