The Dallas Cowboys offensive line is capable of amazing things. Cowboys Nation certainly remembers what they did in 2014 with DeMarco Murray at the running back position. They then followed this up in 2015 by making Darren McFadden the league’s fourth leading rusher.
McFadden, for one of the first times in his career, looked like the running back the Raiders expected to get when they drafted him with the fourth overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. Still, the Cowboys entered the 2016 draft in search of even more explosiveness in the backfield, and used their very own fourth overall pick on Ezekiel Elliott – a dynamic play-maker that fits Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan’s system beautifully.
Elliott was drafted into a backfield that still had McFadden under contract, as well as free agent acquisition Alfred Morris. Later on in the draft, with the 216th overall pick, Dallas drafted a potential replacement to Lance Dunbar (who is also still with the team on a one-year deal for 2016) in Darius Jackson.
With all of these backs bringing different talents and skill sets to the offense, having their services employed behind an absolute dominant front, it should be safe to say the Cowboys’ current backfield ranks among the league’s best.
Top 5 Running Back groups in the NFL:
5. @buffalobills
4. @Chiefs
3-1. ???? https://t.co/GzYYygC6dE— NFL (@NFL) May 29, 2016
Apparently Heath Evans says otherwise, as the former NFL fullback ranked his top 5 running back groups in the league. His top 2 selections were the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings.
While Todd Gurley and Adrian Peterson are tremendous talents, as are LeSean McCoy, Jamaal Charles, and Le’Veon Bell – the lead backs for Evans’ 5-3 teams – it’s hard to justify leaving the Cowboys depth and versatility at running back off of this list.
Even if Ezekiel Elliott doesn’t live up to all of the hype around him for 2016, the Cowboys can turn to Morris or McFadden, which is a pretty nice luxury to have.
If Elliott is dominant for Dallas this season, the Cowboys could have a historically good backfield behind Tony Romo. The league will take notice, and hopefully Evans as well.
Ranking the Cowboys rushing attack among the league's best, based primarily on Zeke's unproven potential, is about the same as awarding Barack Obama a Nobel Peace Prize on the basis of . . . well, nothing.