When the Cowboys decided to move on from Ezekiel Elliott over the offseason, the battle for the second running back spot promised to be a good one. Signed on the franchise tag, Tony Pollard was the clear top dog of the bunch, but behind him was grab-bag of possibilities.
Instead of signing an established veteran in free agency the Cowboys took a stab at Ronald Jones. The former Buccaneer had been generally viewed as a disappointment in the NFL and as such came to Dallas on a very modest one-year, $1,232,500 deal.
In the draft, the Cowboys also took a very tepid approach to the position as well. In one of the best draft classes in recent memory, Dallas waited until the sixth round to address the position. Scouts identified nearly a dozen possible franchise-level prospects, but the Cowboys declined to select one.
It appeared the plan was to take a handful of ‘maybes” into training camp and see which one(s) stuck.
Low and behold some of their guys did indeed, stick. But finding a clear No. 2 hasn’t been easy. That’s because a true do-it-all option at RB2 doesn’t appear to exist on the roster.
When the top two spots were held by Elliott and Pollard, the Cowboys didn’t have to worry about what each guy could and couldn’t do. Both players could run inside and run outside. Both could pass protect and run routes. Both could convert in short yardage or be used on 1st-and-10 from the 20.
There wasn’t a job they couldn’t handle.
That’s not the case for the Cowboys current crop of reserve RBs. This makes for a very nontraditional RB2 situation in Dallas this season.