The addition of four-time Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook may have muddied the waters, at least in terms of projecting which ballcarrier will get the lion’s share of the workload in Dallas this season.
But to hear head coach Mike McCarthy tell it, that’s kind of the point.
Cook will start out on the Cowboys practice squad as he acclimates himself to the playbook and ramps up to game speed after working out on his own all spring and summer. But the team clearly has plans for him on Sundays, and he’ll eventually join a platoon that already includes two-time rushing champ Ezekiel Elliott, a resurgent Deuce Vaughn, and Rico Dowdle, who many observers have said looks like the best back of the bunch this offseason.
“What’s the definition of ‘committee?'” McCarthy asked reporters during a Thursday press conference. “As a play caller, you want to play wide open- first, second, third down- and you want it to flow. My definition of ‘committee’ is: it’s a long year. You want to be able to have distribution throughout that position because of the toll that it takes on the running back position.”
As for which one opposing defenses see in the Dallas backfield, McCarthy explained, it will all depend on the moment.
“We don’t want to necessarily be in personnel groups that every time this particular player runs in or this particular player runs in [the defense knows what’s coming]. After three or four weeks, you have major tendencies,” he warned. “We want to be able to utilize all those guys but stay in a normal flow.”
The late signing of Cook- just 12 days before the season opener in Cleveland- does throw a wild card into how the Cowboys’ running back committee has looked in camp and the preseason. But the coach confirmed that signing the former second-round draft pick- who’s had four 1,000-yard campaigns in seven NFL seasons- was no spur-of-the-moment impulse purchase.
“There’s been interest for quite some time,” McCarthy said. “Personally, I’m a fan. I’ve seen him run down the sideline from the opposite side of the field too many times. He’s just a hell of a player. I think when you just look at our roster additions this year, we’ve added some veteran experience- more than we’ve had in the past- and he’s a great example of it.”
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But pairing Cook with Elliott- the two have combined for over 15,000 career rushing yards and seven Pro Bowl nods- should in no way leave Dowdle, who has a grand total of 385 rushing yards after four injury-filled pro seasons, as the odd man out.
Rico Dowdle shows why the #CowboyNation kept him for three years despite always hurt. pic.twitter.com/At4ahFASSE
— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) September 25, 2023
McCarthy readily admits that the undrafted South Carolina product will see “a lesser role” only on special teams this year, and that’s because the plan is for him to play more in the Cowboys offense.
“I think I definitely should get a bigger role this year, and I’m looking forward to it,” Dowdle said after Cook’s signing, per The Athletic‘s Jon Machota. “The more you can do, the better. When you can catch out of the backfield, run routes, and also run the ball well, it’s hard to take you off the field. I want to be a three-down back.”
And being in a timeshare with two longtime workhorses doesn’t worry Dowdle in the least.
“One guy is not going out there, being on an eight-play drive, staying eight plays in a row or something like that,” he said. “It’s kind of flipping it: four and four, having a third guy come in, just making sure we have fresh legs on the field at all times.”
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