The Cowboys have come under fire for their handling of the running back position this year. Letting Tony Pollard sign a three-year, $21,750,000 deal with Tennessee wasn’t an issue. Handing big money to the RB position has long been regarded as questionable behavior. Re-signing the veteran Ezekiel Elliott to a one-year, $2 million deal wasn’t an issue either. An inexpensive safety net like Elliott made sense in a back-up capacity.
Letting the draft tick by 257 players without the Cowboys claiming a single RB? That baffled a few folks. After years of accusations of overpaying, over-drafting and just generally overinvesting, the Cowboys have made a wild adjustment in the way they handle the RB position.
This 180-degree heel turn of theirs set them on the path to enter the 2024 season with some combination of Rico Dowdle, Ezekiel Elliott, Royce Freeman, Maliek Davis, Hunter Luepke, Deuce Vaughn, Snoop Conner and Nathaniel Peat. It’s a group that some have called the worst unit in the NFL and one even the most fervent of Cowboys fans has been having a difficult time getting excited about.
In the Cowboys first preseason game, Dowdle offered glimmers of hope. The fifth-year back out of South Carolina ran the ball three times for 14 yards. His day understandably ended early since he’s expected by many to be the top ball carrier in Dallas in 2024. Held out of action were Elliott and Freeman. The former, a veteran in whom the Cowboys are already well acquainted and the latter, a veteran who’s already banged up.
The rest of the lot played fairly uninspiring ball after Dowdle left the field. Conner led the rest of the group with a paltry 3.3 yards/carry average while no one else surpassed the 2.5 yards/carry mark. Blocking obviously played a big role in that inefficiency, but the ball carriers struggled to add anything of added value to the runs.
It’s all reaffirmed what many feared entering the preseason and supported what was happening in training camp; the Cowboys are weak at the RB position.
In a not-so-bold roster prediction, the Cowboys will likely round out their RB ranks with a player who’s not currently on the roster.
It’s fair to say other NFL teams will release someone who’s good enough to be claimed by Dallas and the Cowboys are just bidding their time until cutdown day arrives on August 27. Of the eight players listed above, it’s likely only three will make the Cowboys final 53 in 2024. It’s a list that includes Luepke the fullback since he’s reportedly beloved by the coaching staff and cross-training at the tight end position to boost his usefulness.
As things stand today, it looks like Dowdle, Elliott and Luepke are the only RBs currently in camp who are in line for a roster spot. Vaughn and Peat would then be the favorites to join the practice squad with a veteran to be named later to round out the rotation on the 53.
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