The Cowboys mishandled this issue immensely.
The Dallas Cowboys had a ton of issues heading into last offseason. One that was at the forefront was the running back position and what their plan was going forward. Tony Pollard was set to be a free agent, and the 2024 NFL Draft had quite the selection of players at running back that Dallas could have chosen from. When free agency came, the Cowboys let Pollard walk and sign with the Tennessee Titans. They also went through the entire draft without selecting a running back and signed Nathaniel Peat as an undrafted rookie free agent.
They brought in veteran Royce Freeman to compete, and signed former first-round pick Ezekiel Elliott for his second stint with the organization. Lastly, back in August, the Cowboys signed veteran Dalvin Cook to their practice squad. By the time the regular season came around, Peat and Freeman were no longer on the roster. This left the Cowboys with Elliott and Cook, two veterans that had seen better days. Deuce Vaughn, who hadn’t consistently shown anything yet, was also on the roster. Then, there was Rico Dowdle, who hadn’t proven that he could consistently stay healthy. That wasn’t exactly an ideal situation at the running back spot.
What made this situation so frustrating is that it was completely avoidable. Although the Cowboys didn’t have a fourth-round selection, there was plenty of running back talent on the board in the first three rounds, and not getting one was a total lack of evaluating the room as a whole. However, that was the way Dallas wanted to move, which would once again put more responsibility on quarterback Dak Prescott and the passing game.
Elliott got the start in the season opener against the Cleveland Browns, and to his credit, he looked pretty decent running for 40 yards on 10 carries. Over the next four games, though, Elliott averaged less than three yards per carry in three of them. Meanwhile, Dowdle put up over four yards per carry in each, which included an 87-yard performance in a win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is around the time that Elliott voiced his frustration with his role with the team. As a result, although he averaged five yards per carry against the Detroit Lions the next week, Dowdle only got five attempts while Elliott got eight. Mind you, he only amassed two yards per attempt. The Cowboys offense was already limited with a lack of talent and no real plan when it came to running the ball, but to purposely not use your most effective runner didn’t make any sense.
Dowdle didn’t play against the San Francisco 49ers due to an illness. The Cowboys finally smarten up and made Dowdle the unquestioned lead back in November, which is when he took off. He goes into the final week of the season with four 100-yard games in the last five weeks, and he’s also hit the 1,000 yard mark for the year. While that’s great for Dowdle, seeing as he’s in a contract year, he may have priced himself out of Dallas with how frugal they are in free agency. So, if he is to go elsewhere, the Cowboys will once again be left in dire straits at the running back position.
It’s pretty simple for the Cowboys. They can’t let the 2025 NFL Draft go by without getting a running back. In fact, they may even need to consider double-dipping at the position with how deep it is and how much they need quality talent in the room. The only thing is, the Cowboys need to fill a lot of holes, and they don’t make a lot of moves in free agency, which makes the draft where they do the most damage. They’re without a fourth-round pick again in 2025. So, it will be interesting to see how they address the needs or if they value the running back spot to invest seriously in it.
Building a roster is difficult enough in the NFL, and the Cowboys have made it harder on themselves when it comes to having a quality rushing attack.
