I know that the Cowboys’ brain trust of Jerry Jones, Stephen Jones, Mike McCarthy and Will McClay has been in the business long enough to understand the difference between the devaluing of running backs and the importance of the running game in the NFL’s 21st century. They just behaved all weekend, especially Saturday, as if they don’t.
For the first two days, the Cowboys drafted players they hope will plug holes in the offensive line and along the front seven on defense. They had four opportunities Saturday to grab a running back to replace Tony Pollard, gone to the Tennessee Titans. Runs at the position in the fourth round (six backs selected in 15 picks) and fifth (three in a row) before their first selection of the day erased many of the prominent names from the running back board.
So they picked a cornerback, a wide receiver, a guard and a nose tackle.
Their running back room at the moment is Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn and Royce Freeman. There is an expectation they will re-sign Zeke Elliott.
That’s not just devaluing the position. It’s giving up on the run. It’s their way of saying good luck to Dak and CeeDee carrying this offense for 17 games next fall.
I thought Jerry Jones was mostly having fun with the media late Friday when he was asked about passing on running back with their two third-round picks. “First of all, the draft’s not over. That’s a thought,’’ Jones said. “We also are keenly interested in what the future might look like with Zeke.‘’
Jones went on to say Elliott can be a starting running back in this league — in his ninth season — because of what the owner saw Zeke do late last season. I won’t spend too much time on this foolishness, but I will say this. In his final season with Dallas, Elliott averaged 3.8 yards per carry. It was easily his career low. Last year with the Patriots, Elliott averaged 3.5 yards per carry.
That’s not going the right direction. As for whatever Jones thought he saw in those late-season games, Zeke ran 89 times for 265 yards in New England’s last six games. Slightly below 3 yards per carry.
Zeke is not a realistic answer, nor is the well-traveled Freeman. Dowdle didn’t look like much by the end of last year in his reserve role behind Pollard. And Deuce is a fan favorite only in the third quarter of preseason games while running against defensive players about to be released.
I have been on the Cowboys for overspending at the running back position, particularly overpaying Zeke as a holdout in 2019 when the evidence of what happens with Le’Veon Bell and Todd Gurley and so many others in second contracts was staring them in the face.
This has become a position for rookies and for first-contract players. Zeke led the league in rushing as a 2016 rookie. Kareem Hunt did it in 2017. Saquon Barkley finished second behind Zeke as a rookie in 2018.
So go get one of those. You can even score late hits in the draft at the position. The Rams picked Notre Dame’s Kyren Williams in the fifth round in 2022. He was third in rushing last season. The Chiefs grabbed Isaiah Pacheco in the seventh round in 2022. On an offense clearly established around Patrick Mahomes throwing the football, Pacheco ran for 935 yards and a 4.6 average last year before rushing for 313 more in the playoffs.
But you can’t just ignore the position. As much as we talk about the passing era and see wide receivers making upwards of $30 million per year, the best team in the Cowboys’ conference is San Francisco, and the 49ers run the hell out of the ball. Christian McCaffrey is the only running back who still gets MVP consideration.
The teams that played in conference title games in January averaged third, fourth, fifth and 13th in yards per carry. The Chiefs were the last of that group, and they mostly run to give Mahomes and Travis Kelce a breather. Detroit ran the ball extremely well with David Montgomery inside and rookie Jahmyr Gibbs outside. Baltimore just added Derrick Henry to the league’s most dangerous read option play with Lamar Jackson.
Dallas’ biggest competitors just paired Barkley with Jalen Hurts in the backfield. The Cowboys? McCarthy talks about the run, but the only thing the team has done well in recent years is throw the football. Pollard was something of a bust as a starter — recovery from a broken leg may have played a part — as he averaged just 4.0 yards in a feature roll after 5.2 as Zeke’s backup. Zeke hasn’t had a big average in years. And in 2024, the Cowboys’ plan is to start two rookies on an offensive line that was inefficient as a run-blocking unit in 2023.
How’s that going to go with Zeke or Freeman or Dowdle or a rookie free agent searching for holes? The Cowboys didn’t need to spend money, just a slice of their draft capital Saturday. They didn’t bother. Let’s see how that goes.
Twitter/X: @TimCowlishaw
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