Dallas City News

Preseason/training camp is all about answering questions and easing concerns about how the team will be constructed and perform for the upcoming regular season. The Dallas Cowboys went into the offseason with numerous questions left unanswered, but are starting to fill in the blanks through the first two preseason games.

One such unanswered question that was a pretty significant concern to many around Cowboys Nation was how this new running-back-by-committee approach would work out and who all would be involved. Things are starting to become a little more clear on that front, but there’s still plenty of work to do before things are finalized.

Through the first two preseason games Dallas’ rushing attack has been a mixed bag of results. In the preseason opener against the Rams things didn’t go all that well. They only managed to rush for 93 yards as a team, mostly due to the damage Trey Lance did with his legs. Rico Dowdle did however average 4.6 yards per carry, which is encouraging.

Thankfully, the Cowboys running game showed more signs of life in Week 2 of the preseason against the Raiders. Trey Lance’s 34 yards and a touchdown on the ground highlighted the group, but both Deuce Vaughn and Royce Freeman shined as well. As a whole, they ran for 137 rushing yards and average 4.4 yards per carry Saturday night.

Knowing what we know now, it looks as if Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle will highlight the Cowboys committee this season with both Deuce Vaughn and Royce Freeman competing with one another to join the mix. That’s not particularly an all inspiring group of RBs, but one that should be solid enough to keep opposing defenses honest.

Don’t be at all surprised though if the Dallas Cowboys are paying particularly close attention to the RB position for teams around the league. They aren’t blind to the fact they could stand to update the position if the opportunity presents itself and there will likely be a handful of potential candidates who could be acquired if/when necessary.

They know all too well Zeke has lost a step and Rico Dowdle has struggled with injuries. They also know Royce Freeman has been a journeyman player so far in his career and Deuce Vaughn will always be limited due to his size. But they also know this group is probably good enough to get the job done in 2024.

The only thing we can do now is it back and wait to see what ends up happening when teams start to have to make roster cuts around the league. Bringing in a new face via trade or waiver wire pickup could shake things up quite a bit and potentially be the upgrade many fans around Cowboys Nation are open for.