Mike McCarthy in his tenure as an offensive coordinator and head coach has had a variety of offenses that he has worked with. I went back to see if we can find some trends in his wide receivers to see if we can learn and predict anything about how the Cowboys offense will work in this upcoming season.
From 2000 to 2004 McCarthy was an OC for the Saints, he jumped to the 49ers in 2005, and then he finally became a HC in 2006 with the Green Bay Packers where he stayed until 2018. From my records his WR1s were Joe Horn (2000-2004), Brandon Lloyd (2005), Donald Driver (2006-2007), Greg Jennings (2008-2010), Jordy Nelson (2011-2014, 2016), Randall Cobb (2015), and Davante Adams (2017-2018).
The years of 2005 and 2012 will not be counted in calculations due to messy statistics and unclear number 1 WRs.
WR1s on Mike McCarthy teams averaged 85.1 receptions, 1358.7 yards, and 9.3 TDs. WR2s averaged 58.8 receptions, 822.7 yards, and 6.4 TDs. If we translate these to fantasy points we have 234.2 points for the WR1 and 150.1 points for the WR2 (half ppr).
Let’s look at where these point totals would rank when compared against last season’s fantasy finishes:
Last season Chris Godwin finished as the fantasy WR2 with 233.1 fantasy points. Mike McCarthy’s average WR1 finished with 234.2 fantasy points. The average McCarthy WR1 would have finished as the fantasy WR2 last season.
When we consider that this was the average across 6 different WRs that is an insane statistic.
The average McCarthy WR2 that finished with 150.1 fantasy points would have finished in between Cole Beasley and Darius Slayton as WR35. If we expect the average WR2 on a team to be the fantasy WR48 that’s also a meaningful stat.
Finally, let’s look at the current situation of the Cowboys. Dak Prescott last season had over 200 more yards than any McCarthy QB has ever had. Couple that already existing pass-heavy offensive style with a strong WR1 of Amari Cooper and a WR2/3 of Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb and there should be every reason for fantasy success for the Cowboys’ WRs.
In conclusion, there are many reasons to project a strong fantasy season from the Mike McCarthy Cowboys’ wide receivers.
