Fantasy Impact: Darren McFadden Signs As The Dallas Cowboys Running Back

As the craziness that is NFL Free Agency continues Darren McFadden signs on with hopes to become the Cowboys lead back.

The Dallas Cowboys took losing DeMarco Murray in full stride today and went out quickly and replaced him with the talented Darren McFadden from the Oakland Raiders.

McFadden has had a few lackluster seasons for fantasy purposes the last few years, but remains a high upside guy that could turn out to be the most under-rated free agent signing of the year. To be completely honest I think that you could put just about anyone behind that Cowboys’ offensive line and they would have a pretty fair amount of success.

The Cowboys offense is pretty potent and one of the main reasons is they run behind a very strong offensive line. Whether you love or hate Jerry Jones you have to give the man some credit, he will hustle and do what it takes to get quality personnel on his ball club.

I really like McFadden’s fantasy prospects, but with his history of injuries I will not be willing to spend more than a fifth or sixth round pick on him at best. My hope is that most people will still be sour on McFadden and that he will fly under the radar and be a steal in the seventh or eighth round, but I doubt that happens.

McFadden has the ability to really be a stalwart for the Cowboys’ offense as he is a great pass-catcher and I believe he still has plenty of gas in the tank. DMC is only 27 years old has never been on any other team in the NFL. I will also tell you that I would send out some flier type of offers for him in dynasty leagues. He could be a pretty solid piece for the Cowboys for the next 2 years if his body will hold up. We have seen how sometimes the guys we think are injury prone have the ability to lace up the cleats when playing on a contending team with a vision.

Overall I think the Cowboys did a great job in replacing Murray with McFadden, but what it boils down to is the Cowboys were prepared by already having a great offensive line in place and a decent QB. I think that the smart thing was locking up Dez Bryant as he will be the harder player to replace and I like where the Cowboys are heading for the NFL and for fantasy purposes. I will also say that if you draft McFadden you are going to have to make sure that you draft his handcuff and stash him away on your bench and never cave into the peer pressure to drop him for a hot free agent or accept a trade for a starting back. So draft McFadden and his backup with confidence, but until we get more concrete information don’t spend much more than a fifth round draft pick on him.

Next: Where Is DeMarco Murray In Our Way Too Early Top Ten RBs?

As the craziness that is NFL Free Agency continues Darren McFadden signs on with hopes to become the Cowboys lead back.

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