Hopefully the Cowboys are able to bring Rico Dowdle back.
The Dallas Cowboys messaging this offseason has centered on returning to being a dominant run-first offense. Most mock drafts have the Cowboys in a prime position to draft running back Ashton Jeanty as their next franchise bell cow. However, the front office could look at drafting a running back that high as a waste of draft capital, given how deep the rookie running back class looks.
Before the Cowboys are on the clock, they must figure out where to attack in free agency. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer discussed the importance of evaluating their in-house free agents before looking elsewhere. One of those players is Rico Dowdle, their leading rusher from 2024.
The Cowboys do not have the most money to spend in free agency (and the front office would be happy to remind fans of that), but ESPN’s Dan Graziano says it sounds like Dallas hopes to retain Dowdle and pair him with a rookie back.
Dallas also will look to add a dynamic player at running back to pair with Rico Dowdle, who finished the season strong for them.
From the tea leaves already out there surrounding the Cowboys’ plans for draft weekend, it’s becoming clearer they have every intention of grabbing one of these rookie runners on either the first or second day of the draft. David Moore of The Dallas Morning News also mentioned the team would like to retain Dowdle, but it could all depend on the almighty dollar.
The bottom line: the Cowboys would love to pair Dowdle with a draft pick if they can make it work financially. But if it’s one or the other, the scales tip toward a draft pick.
The Cowboys have other free agents who could surpass Dowdle in the pecking order for new contracts. Osa Odighizuwa was priority No. 1 and just received a new four-year deal worth $80 million. Dallas hopes to keep DeMarcus Lawrence and Jourdan Lewis as the team strives to maintain continuity while their third defensive coordinator in three years, Matt Eberflus, gets settled in.
On the toss play that got Rico Dowdle over 100 yards for the first time in his career, the left side of the o-line opened like the Seven Seas #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/ARl6k7miMO
— Brandon Loree (@Brandoniswrite) November 29, 2024
Dowdle has earned every chance to assess his value on the open market. Several injuries affected the early stages of his career, but 2023 and 2024 marked the first healthy periods of his NFL journey. Last season was the best of Dowdle’s career, rushing for 1,079 yards despite spending the early part of the year in a rotating committee at the position.
If his price tag exceeds what the front office is willing to pay, they will look to the draft to try and replace his value. Dallas held formal meetings at the NFL combine with Kaleb Johnson, Omarion Hampton, Jordan James, and Dylan Sampson. All four are projected to be picked as early as the late first round or could be day-three selections. Any day-three pick would cost less money than Dowdle and more team control for four years of a rookie contract.
The coaches must decide whether Dowdle’s breakout season was a sign of things to come or merely a flash in the pan like Darren McFadden’s 2015 season. His strong finish to the 2024 season suggests that it aligns with the first possibility, but like everything in Dallas, the price has to be right.
