Dallas City News

The Dallas Cowboys will play their first preseason game on August 11th at the L.A. Rams. The first meaningful game of the season is less than a month after that on September 8th at the Browns to open the regular season, yet we still don’t know their plans at running back. Where free agency losses like Dante Fowler Jr., Dorance Armstrong, Tyler Biadasz, and Michael Gallup have opened the door for others at training camp in rookie Marshawn Kneeland, Brock Hoffman, Jalen Tolbert or Brooks to garner some buzz with the opportunity for more playing time, the same has truly yet to be said about replacing last year’s starting RB Tony Pollard with Rico Dowdle.

Of all the decisions the Cowboys have made this offseason that boil down to “liking their guys” and trusting year two or three players to step up, thrusting Dowdle into a starting role with only veterans Ezekiel Elliott and Royce Freeman having experience behind him might be the most brash if it happens. The wait between the start of training camp where unpadded practices allow secondary and skill position players to shine, and the more physical ones Dallas has introduced this week with full pads hasn’t helped make anyone feel much better about the RB situation, but slowly and surely Dowdle is trying to change that by catching the eye of some in attendance covering Cowboys camp in Oxnard.

Dowdle is in his fourth season with the team, and with some playing time last year in the first year of Mike McCarthy’s scheme should give him an early edge in the backfield competition over Elliott and Freeman. The undrafted free agent from 2020 is a player with a career high 89 rushes for 361 yards and two touchdowns in 2023, but is looking to do everything he can to prove he can be a lead back.

Although Dowdle is looking to be a RB1 for the first time in his career, he has been part of a tandem approach in each of his past three seasons. The best news for the former South Carolina back is that McCarthy seemingly has no plans of backing away from this approach, even taking it a step further by telling the media at this camp’s opening press conference he wants to expand the use of two-back looks in his offense.

The Cowboys want to expand to some two-back concepts

Cowboys PR literally had to ask the crowd if anyone had a question for Mike McCarthy if it isn’t obvious how this was going. It ultimately did happen, though.

McCarthy mentioned having Ezekiel Elliott back and noted that Dallas wants to expand to some two-back concepts in the name of flexibility and unpredictability. He also mentioned keeping Zeke’s reps in practice at a low level given his time in the league. That will allow them to see other down-roster backs.

We will see what comes of that.

Trying to make Tony Pollard an every down back was one of the very few things that didn’t work for a McCarthy offense that led the league in many other passing and total offense categories last year, and embracing more of a committee approach may be the team’s only choice for 2024 given how the depth chart looks at the moment. Both Dowdle and Elliott, when at their best, can bring a physical, north-to-south running style the Cowboys lacked a year ago, meaning other backs will have to provide change of pace and receiving skills. Even Dowdle has the ability to surprise defenses with his hands out of the backfield. Growing his route tree alongside would be a great next step to see for an offense in need of better balance.

Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

The Cowboys have done the work to upgrade the offensive line that any of these backs will run behind, but it isn’t exactly fool proof to the point an under-the-radar player is going to burst onto the scene with a DeMarco Murray-esque 2014 season. The Back to the Future time machine also isn’t parked next to Jerry’s helicopter, meaning a similar type season seen in the past from Elliott with the Cowboys shouldn’t be expected either.

Rico Dowdle doesn’t need to be the focal point of Dallas’ offense, or the player opposing defensive coordinators are spending all week preparing for. For good reason, the team is confident they have these types of players already in CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott, as well as Brandin Cooks, Jake Ferguson, and others like Jalen Tolbert poised to take a big step up. Dowdle’s task becomes much simpler if the Cowboys passing game is even close to as dynamic as they were in 2023. That task is to take advantage of the softer fronts to run against and get all of the yards that are blocked for in front of him.

Although Pollard never enjoyed great continuity with the blockers trying to open holes in front, it was clear he also left yards on the field looking for the big plays the Cowboys were counting on him still producing despite not being paired with Elliott anymore. Where these plays will come from now is even more of a mystery given the current state of the RB position, but seeing how much Dowdle can really establish himself as the best option out of the backfield is more important with padded practices just beginning. Even without every rep being ran at full speed, there has been a noticeable difference in the way Dowdle bursts upfield and shows off some elusiveness compared to anyone else taking handoffs for the Cowboys at camp right now.

The Cowboys aren’t known to give any expected starters much work at all through the preseason, but when it comes to how vital their need for a rejuvenated run game is in evaluating the entirety of the offense, it would be wise to see some of Dowdle in these games. These live reps are also nearly impossible to replicate in team drills at training camp, with so many restrictions on how much contact is allowed and avoiding injuries being at the forefront of every practice.

Highlight reel catches, interceptions, pinpoint accurate throws, and other “mojo moments” may continue to steal the spotlight of coverage from Cowboys camp, but from here on out the most important progress this team can make before the regular season is at running back with Rico Dowdle on the fast track to be a trusted week one starter.