Dallas City News

Heading into week three of the preseason, the current weakest position group on the Dallas Cowboys is the running back room. The room currently consists of Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis, Royce Freeman, and Deuce Vaughn. Back in May, head coach Mike McCarthy had confirmed to reporters that the team would be taking a committee approach as opposed to a bell-cow back.

“We’re running back by committee. I think it’s the times that we’re in. Seventeen games is a lot of football — that’s a big role for those guys. Don’t get me wrong, they’d all like to carry it like the old days and have those touches, but you want those guys fresh at the most important time of the year. So, that’s all part of planning and how you look at projections of play time.”

Having a committee approach at the running back position isn’t a bad idea. Most teams don’t win Super Bowls by paying large money for one guy to carry the load on the ground. With that said, the current committee in Dallas is lackluster at best. Elliott is coming off his worst season in the NFL, averaging 3.5 yards per carry with the New England Patriots last season. Freeman only finished the 2023 season with 319 rushing yards for the Los Angeles Rams and is far from a lock to make the team. Dowdle impressed last season, but still only averaged 4.1 yards per carry. Davis and Vaughn haven’t gotten consistent reps and are fighting for a role on the team.

With that said, there is a running back that Dallas could trade for who could provide some juice and shake up the running back depth chart. Miles Sanders is a player that could make sense for the Cowboys after having a career-low season with the Carolina Panthers in 2023. The 2019 second-round pick averaged more than 4.5 yards each season with the Philadelphia Eagles. His most efficient one coming in 2021 when he averaged 5.5 yards per carry. His best statistical season came in 2022 when he was selected to the Pro Bowl after finishing the season with 259 carries, 1,269 rushing yards, and 11 touchdowns.

His impressive 2022 season earned him a contract with the Carolina Panthers, where he was unable to replicate his success he experienced in Philly. He had a career low 432 rushing yards on just 3.3 yards per carry. In fairness to him, everyone looked bad on the Panthers last season, as they finished with a league-low two wins. It is safe to say that Carolina had one of the worst offensive lines across the league last year, and Sanders would receive much more help from his line in Dallas.

It would make sense for the Panthers to make him available, after drafting Jonathon Brooks in the second-round of the 2023 draft, and giving Chuba Hubbard more carries in 2023. Sanders could have his career revived in a better system in Dallas.