The Cowboys are starting to see some return on their investment. Over the offseason they invested heavily in their offensive line, dedicating their first-round and a third-round pick to the unit. After some significant growing pains melding the new pieces into the machine, the unit is starting to show some signs of life in the run game.
Even with the constant shuffling of personnel along the line, Dallas ranks eighth in run block win rate. While Zack Martin is the only individual high performer of the group, the unit as a whole has been producing solid results.
In a single point failure area like run blocking, team success is paramount. It only takes one error for the entire play to be blown up. A study conducted by Pro Football Focus concluded a running play in which all blockers received positive grades produces a 60.2 percent success rate while a block with one or more negative grades offers just a 25.7 percent success rate. It carries over in EPA as well, with a positively graded blocking effort producing a +0.27 EPA compared to -0.27 EPA for a run block with one or more negative scores.
Shockingly, the Cowboys are currently in the NFL’s top tier in perfect run block rates in 2024. Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle have both been given solid opportunities for positive gains even if the results of the run haven’t shown it. While running games are largely a byproduct of the blocking, at some point it falls on the running back himself to really push it over the goal line (so to speak).
Explosive plays in particular are an area in which the Cowboys RBs are struggling. Creating holes and delivering positive gains often falls on the offensive line, but it’s the RB himself who’s largely responsible for making players miss at the second level.
Per Sumer Sports, Dowdle’s explosive run rate is 6.3 percent while Elliott’s is just 1.7 percent. For reference, Saquon Barkley is at 11.7 percent and Derrick Henry is at 11.8 percent. It’s a significant difference but Cowboys fans can take solace in the fact the difference between Dowdle and Elliott is far greater than the distance between Barkey/Henry and Dowdle.
Based on a side-by-side statistical comparison it’s clear the Cowboys made the right move giving Dowdle the top spot and pushing Elliott into a supporting role. Dowdle hasn’t just shown he’s the best of the bunch in Dallas but that he’s a legit NFL starter. When Dowdle is getting the ball, the Cowboys are producing at a top 10 success rate (filtered for those with 70+ carries).
Nontraditional ball carriers in Dallas are also producing at high clip. Hunter Luepke (66.7%), KaVontae Turpin (40.0%) and CeeDee Lamb (38.5) are posting decent success rates behind this Cowboys offensive line as well.
The Cowboys haven’t fixed their issues with run blocking, but they are clearly moving in the right direction and better than what some want to credit them for. What this offense needs now is some extra juice from the ball carriers themselves and some more assistance from downfield blockers like receivers and tight ends.
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