The Dallas Cowboys will face the Carolina Panthers in Week 15. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Cowboys skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 15 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Cooper Rush, QB
Cooper Rush has failed to clear 195 passing yards on 30+ attempts in consecutive games, first against the Giants and on Monday night against the Bengals. He is the only QB to check both of those boxes against either of those defenses this season — miss me with the “can I start Rush over insert established QB” questions.
Rush hasn’t proven capable of leveraging strong matchups, and I see no reason to think that changes with a short work week.
Rico Dowdle, RB
Rico Dowdle has run for 100+ yards in consecutive games, making him the first Cowboy to do so since Tony Pollard (Weeks 8-10, 2022). Between those two instances, a non-Cowboys RB registered consecutive 100-yard rushing games 31 times.
This team hasn’t valued the running back position all season long, but they’ve been backed into a corner with Cooper Rush under center, and Dowdle has stepped up in a big way.
The game script is a reasonable concern most weeks but not against the Panthers. Carolina owns the lowest defensive success rate against the run this season; with Dowdle projecting as a top-10 back in terms of touch count this week, he’s a must-start across all formats.
Brandin Cooks, WR
Brandin Cooks has scored in consecutive games and seems to have the inside track at WR2 honors in this offense. In his two games back, the veteran has earned 10 targets; that’s impressive — the 19 yards gained in those games, less so.
Cooks hasn’t reached 20 receiving yards in a game since the season opener, and even if he breaks that trend this week, that doesn’t mean he finishes as a Flex-worthy option. The Panthers are the worst defense in terms of creating pressure and, for me, that just gives Cooper Rush more time to lock on CeeDee Lamb or the tight ends.
If I’m hellbent on starting a veteran receiver with a limited ceiling, I’m going in the direction of JuJu Smith-Schuster every time.
CeeDee Lamb, WR
CeeDee Lamb is doing his best to keep this offense (and your fantasy team) afloat. Cooper Rush is limited in a variety of ways, but his WR1 has either scored or seen double-digit passes throw his way in five of six games under the backup, production that is above what most of us penciled in after Dak Prescott was lost for the season.
Dallas is doing all they can to get the ball in the hands of their difference-maker (one rush attempt per game during this stretch with Rush). While it’s fair to worry about the quality of opportunity, that might not matter this week.
Among the receivers to clear 20 PPR points against the Panthers this season are DJ Moore, Tre Tucker, and Jakobi Meyers. Lamb is a special talent — that allows him to retain top-10 WR status despite playing in an offense that is close to inept.
Jalen Tolbert, WR
The WR2 role in Dallas is begging for someone to assume control of it, and it would seem that Jalen Tolbert is trending out of consideration.
The third-year receiver was on the field for a season-low 64.4% of snaps on Monday night, and while I think there’s a discussion to be had about whether Brandin Cooks is the answer, there’s value to be had in knowing who is not the answer; that is the situation we seem to be in with Tolbert.
You can cut ties without much fear of it coming back to haunt you.
Jake Ferguson, TE
Jake Ferguson returned to action on Monday night, and while a three-catch, 32-yard performance isn’t going to jump off the page, I thought he looked reasonably healthy — a 76.3% snap share indicates optimism moving forward.
Cooper Rush has thrown over 30 passes in four consecutive starts; while the plurality of targets goes in the direction of CeeDee Lamb, there’s plenty of room for a secondary pass catcher to assume enough of a role to matter.
Ferguson isn’t a lock to pick up that role, but I’d make him the favorite to do so. That makes him a low-end TE1 against the worst-scoring defense in the league (29.9 PPG).
Luke Schoonmaker, TE
Luke Schoonmaker saw streamable volume when Jake Ferguson was on the shelf (20 targets and a touchdown across three games), but his snap share cratered to 39% on Monday night with the starter back on the field, and that simply isn’t enough of a role in a bottom-10 offense.
You’re streaming the position, and that means not hesitating to move on — Schoonmaker shouldn’t be rostered in any formats.