The Cowboys’ gamble at running back could have a ripple effect
Last year, the Dallas Cowboys rode running back DeMarco Murray to a 12-4 record and had Dez Bryant’s fourth-down catch in Green Bay held up, who knows how far they could have gone?
So the template was set. The Cowboys could run the ball, control the clock, keep their defense off the field and make sure Tony Romo wasn’t asked to do too much. But with Murray being a free agent, who would their running back be?
They’d certainly re-sign Murray, the NFL offensive player of the year, right? When that didn’t happen, of course they’d land Adrian Peterson or sign an established free agent. Nope. So they had to land a running back in the draft. That didn’t happen either. The Cowboys did virtually nothing at running back.
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The Cowboys are making a statement. They don’t need a big-name running back. They have an offensive line that is widely considered the best in football (and got better when they signed LSU tackle La’el Collins, a first-round talent, as an undrafted free agent), and they think that will be enough.
Every agent of a big-name running back hopes they’re wrong.
ESPN Dallas’ Todd Archer said he expects Joseph Randle to be the Week 1 starter. That has been the assumption since the draft, although Ryan Williams, Lance Dunbar and Darren McFadden are also around.
Randle is a 2013 fifth-round pick with 507 career yards who had more than seven carries in a game once last year. Williams suffered a brutal knee injury as a rookie in 2011 and since then he averaged 2.8 yards on 58 career carries. Dunbar is an undersized, undrafted back who has 80 carries in three NFL seasons. The oft-injured McFadden hasn’t averaged more than 3.4 yards per carry in a season since 2011.
This isn’t just a minor gamble by the Cowboys. It’s an announcement to the rest of the league that their line is so good it doesn’t matter who runs the ball. I mean, just look at that group. Then the Cowboys reportedly worked out Felix Jones, Daniel Thomas and Ben Tate, and none of them are anyone’s idea of a solution in 2015. Yet it looks like the Cowboys are going to depend on a pretty risky option — whoever it is — to replace Murray.
if they’re right? Maybe that further devalues the running back position. You can talk yourself into any of those backs being talented enough to have a nice year behind that line, especially Randle after he averaged 6.7 yards on his limited carries last year. Not everyone has the Cowboys’ line, so the no-name approach at running back isn’t going to suit everyone. But if Randle and another back or two from that uninspiring list can come close to Murray’s production, it will further along the narrative that it’s folly to invest much in a brand-name back in the draft or free agency. Just wait for the next Joseph Randle to plug in.
The Cowboys might be screwing this up. Going cheap at running back seems to discount how good Murray was for them. But if they’re right and it doesn’t matter who runs behind their line this season, it won’t be great news for any other running back around the league. Conversely, if the Cowboys fall flat on their faces without Murray at tailback, maybe teams reconsider the plug-and-play approach at running back. A lot of people will be watching to see how it plays out.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
