Last year the Dallas Cowboys’ three-time Pro Bowl quarterback, Tony Romo, led the Cowboys to an 8-8 season finish, therefore ending the Cowboys’ hopes of making it to the playoffs, which they haven’t seen since 2009. Once again, Cowboys’ fans were disappointed.

For Fantasy owners, however, Romo finished the 2012 fantasy season ranking ninth among fellow quarterbacks earning an average of 17.43 fantasy points per week. This is a fairly decent haul, especially for a quarterback who likely wasn’t drafted until the seventh or eighth round in fantasy football drafts.

While 2012 started off a bit unproductive for Romo, things improved from a fantasy standpoint as his passes to and connection with the Cowboys’ top wide receiver, Dez Bryant began to flourish. Bryant alone caught 92 passes from Romo last year.

A couple impressive statistics to note from 2012 is that in Week 13 in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Romo threw three touchdown passes, marking a total of 166 career touchdowns, surpassing the Cowboys’ franchise high of 165 set by the legendary Troy Aikman. In Week 15 he crossed the 25,000 passing yard mark in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Romo probably could have finished 2012 with even more fantasy points and a higher quarterback ranking if he could have kept his interceptions under control. If you want to look at Romo’s stats in a more positive light, he ranked third overall for quarterbacks in passing yards and sixth in passing touchdowns.

2013 Outlook

I am optimistic that Romo, as long as he stays healthy, will remain in the top 10 for quarterbacks in 2013, based on the fact that Dallas relies heavily on their aerial game. If Romo, who is now participating in the coaching of the Cowboys, can improve on cracking under pressure and more accurately pass the ball into the hands of his capable receiving crew, he should produce slightly higher statistics than in 2012.

Finalizing a contract extension should help relieve Romo’s stress also. Perhaps his six-year contract extension valued at $108 million with a $55 million guaranteed and an extra $25 million in bonuses will help keep that arm throwing for many more thousands of yards for this year and years to come.

Dynasty Outlook

For fantasy drafting, if you can refrain from choosing a quarterback until round seven, you could easily end up with Romo. By waiting this late to draft a quarterback, your roster should be strong with a few elite running back and wide receiver positions. This will help balance your team to compensate for a bit less fantasy points at the quarterback position than you would receive if you drafted one of the more “elite” quarterbacks.

Look for Romo to continue his thriving connection with Bryant, who currently ranks in the top three for wide receivers. The fact is Romo will target him multiple times each game and if the passes are accurate, the combination of Romo to Bryant will reward many fantasy points. It’s also an absolute guarantee that Romo will throw a lot of balls to his longtime favorite tight end, Jason Witten, who ranks in the top five for tight ends, which again equals solid fantasy points.

Romo’s interceptions are definitely his downside, so if we can remain optimistic that he can cut those picks down some, he should accumulate more fantasy points that he made last year. Romo isn’t the “sexiest” fantasy quarterback you could have on your team, but his receiving crew is top notch, therefore, his production should remain consistent enough to label him a high QB2 with possible QB1 upside as his 2013 season progresses.

Projected 2013 Statistics: 4995 Passing Yards, 31 Touchdowns, 16 Interceptions