Sunday Night Football is officially back and I have two primetime plays – one each for the Buccaneers and Cowboys – to consider. These two players aren’t the flashiest of names and are more bargain-bin plays who could surprise.
TE Jake Ferguson, Cowboys
I expect the Cowboys to return to more 12 personnel this season with Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson Jr. no longer on the team and Michael Gallup still recovering from an ACL injury. The Cowboys were more effective in 12 personnel last season, but they had to abandon it once Blake Jarwin was lost to injury.
Rookie TE Jake Ferguson should slide right into Jarwin's old role. Ferguson caught 7-of-7 passes this past preseason and was graded as the fourth-best tight end among 92 qualifiers by PFF. If Ferguson gets just one catch for a TD, he breaks the slate; it’s worth noting Jarwin managed six red-zone targets in eight games last season. Tampa Bay also has three excellent corners (Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting), which could force Dak Prescott to give his TEs more action.
RB Rachaad White, Buccaneers
When speaking about rookie Rachaad White, who was recently promoted to second on Tampa Bay's RB depth chart, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich said, “Obviously, he will have a role.”
While this could be nothing but empty coach speak, White is a low-risk, high-upside bet on a slate where the focus will be on both passing games and three RBs (Ezekiel Elliott, Leonard Fournette, Tony Pollard) more popular than White.
