Are we really better off at RB than last year?

[DuncanIso]

Blue is a possibility 3rd down guy and has to earn the rest

He has elite speed.

 

[TheCritic]

All of the hope revolves around Blue, IMO. If he can be more than a 3rd down scatback, then you may have a noticeable upgrade. If he is a bust, the team might actually be worse at RB this year. Dowdle wasn't terrible and his vet replacements are worse than him.

I tend to agree. But I like the fact that we upgraded at OL and WR. Teams won't be able to stack the box as much. I think it'll be enough for Blue and Vaughn to have some success. And maybe one of our power backs makes a difference. Not gonna lie though. Can only imagine a back like Jeanty in this offense. Now that would be incredible!

 

[starfan1]

The better question is are we better at OL and I think the answer is going to be yes

I also believe RBs are for the most part a product of the line and its success.

Don’t get me wrong skillset is important and think we’ve gotten better but it’s TBD

Look at Barkley behind giants OL and then behind Philly’s line. Talented behind both all world behind 1.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Just getting Zeke off the team is an upgrade in itself.

But yeah, I agree. We're basically banking everything on Blue. The FAs we signed don't have anything imo. Still hoping Mafah can add something, but he's still a seventh rounder.

 

[McKDaddy]

My view:

Sanders is the least likely to return to form.

Williams, still has a chance to return to being productive and could be a solid piece of the rotation.

The rooks are at least young and looking to prove themselves. I think they both will produce. I think they have the chance to become a very nice core going forward.

No doubt it would be a better group with Rico.

All will benefit from better Oline play.

Yes, its a better group than last year & most importantly there is hope that they will actually play the guys who deserve to be playing.

 

[DandyDon52]

Zeke, Freeman, Cooks, Davis......just a bunch of wasted spots last year.

Williams is better than all of them. Not sure why Sanders is here. But the 2 RB's drafted a couple of weeks ago are better than all the scrubs last year. Overall the RB corp is better this year. Last year was Dowdle and nothing else. The Cowboys only had 5 rushing TD's last year and Dak was one of them. That should change this year.

This, plus the main problem last year was zeky was named the starter and got too many carries,
and that hurt the team early in games.
This year with better blocking schemes, and booker added, these new rb's may surprise you.
The 2 vets, I dont know, they need to earn spots, and the rookies need to show something in PS.

 

[CyberB0b]

I like Blue, but as of now, the Cowboys don’t have an NFL starting running back.

 

[Creeper]

Time will tell, of course, but I think they will be better. Forget Sanders. When the season starts its going to be the two rookies and Williams. Maybe they keep Luepke.

But Zeke had nothing last. Williams and Mafah cannot be worse than Zeke. I think Williams will be at least equal to Dowdle.

The key to the RBs will be Blue. His speed alone gives the Cowboys backfield a huge boost. So does his ability as a receiver. We can't anoint him yet, of course. He has to prove it. But if he can play his way onto the field I think his speed will threaten defenses unlike anything on the team in 2024.

Would we have been better off drafting a sure every down back like Jeanty or Hampton? Probably, but it still comes down to the OL knocking people off the LOS.

 

[shabazz]

On paper? No due to Dowdles production vs the other Jags we aquired

However, Gonna have to see how the rookies produce before the final verdict comes in

 

[rambo2]

I'm sleeping. He won't make the roster

I think that he does make it.

 

[TwistedL0g1k]

Agree with this. Dowdle is only costing Panthers 2.7 million with incentives up to 6 million for 1 year. If they meet in the middle the Cowboys could have retained him for around 4 million guaranteed for 1 year with a million in incentives, or 8 million for 2 years with 5 million guaranteed.

Either option would have possibly kept him on the team and kept the cap hit low.

Yes! And it wouldn't have been much more expensive than the 2 JAGs Jerry brought in instead.

 

[kskboys]

If Blue pans out and Javonte has regained his burst, a ton better.

 

[BlindFaith]

somebody was saying Blue this year will remind us of OJ Simpson. So, if he's gonna run like Orenthal, I say we're better off this year

Half this board thought we had drafted Barry Sanders two years ago. Howd that turn out?

We have the NFLs worst group of RBs.

 

[BlindFaith]

The better question is are we better at OL and I think the answer is going to be yes

I also believe RBs are for the most part a product of the line and its success.

Don’t get me wrong skillset is important and think we’ve gotten better but it’s TBD

Look at Barkley behind giants OL and then behind Philly’s line. Talented behind both all world behind 1.

Ask Nate Newton about that.

Before Emmitt, Nate was JAG.

And OL will be a push. Booker is not a huge upgrade over Hoffman or Bass. At least not year 1. Guyton should be better. I guess we may have slightly better backups?

 

[BlindFaith]

If Blue pans out and Javonte has regained his burst, a ton better.

So hope is our new strategy?

 

[Bullflop]

So hope is our new strategy?

No, but perhaps it's far better than being negative and fault-finding jerks. Help is on the way!

 

[glimmerman]

Depends on O-Line. Our run game picked up some last year when the O-Line started to gel and run block better. If the O-Line gets better this offseason and these RB can learn the plays which I don’t see any reason they won’t. Then we should improve at running the ball.

 

[Bamx]

I see some hope being placed in the RB group that we've added this year, and that's understandable to some extent simply because we haven't seen this group either succeed or fail here. However, I do think there is reason to look at this group and wonder if we did any better this year than last year.

Miles Sanders vs. Ezekiel Elliott: Elliott had hit the wall that catches up to all players. He had averaged 3.8 YPC, then 3.5 YPC his last two years before going to New England and averaging 3.1. Elliott was in his seventh year when the wheels fell off. Sanders is going into his seventh year, but it appears that his wheels may have come off sooner. He's averaged 3.3 and 3.7 the last two years. Expecting him to recapture his juice is probably expecting too much. This one is likely a wash.

Rico Dowdle vs. Javonte Williams. Dowdle was our best back last year. He was coming off a season in which he averaged 4.1 YPC in a No. 2 role and averaged 4.6 when given a bigger role. That earned him a deal with Carolina, and Williams was brought in as his replacement. Williams has averaged 3.6 and 3.7 YPC in a time-sharing role in Denver the last two years. It's hard to say that he'll ever get back to the form of his first two years while Dowdle's stock is on the rise. Advantage Dowdle.

Jayden Blue vs. Royce Freeman, Before stashing Dalvin Cook on the practice squad and finding out he was just as cooked as Elliott, Dallas first brought in Freeman. Freeman was coming off a 4.1 season with the Rams in a backup role. He had a decent start to his career (averaging 4.0 per carry as a rookie) but it derailed pretty quickly. Blue brings an element to the run game that Dallas didn't have last year with his speed. The Cowboys are hoping that he can outplay his draft status (fifth round). Freeman was a third-round pick (71) while Blue was taken at 149, and we saw what became of Freeman. With this one, we just hope it turns out better.

Phil Mafah vs. Malik Davis. Davis was a UDFA that looked like he was going to at least carve out a backup role, but he faded quickly. Mafah was practically a UDFA, since he was taken in the seventh round. We have to hope he outplays his draft status as well.

Deuce Vaughn vs. Deuce Vaughn. There are times that Vaughn has shined and times when his lack of size has shown. He likely has to prove this year that he deserves a spot on the roster or he'll be gone. He had a grace period the last two years as a fifth-round pick and the son of a Cowboys staffer.

We're all hoping that the guys we've got will be better than the ones we lost or cut, but there are a lot of question marks here. We did not clearly upgrade and may have actually downgraded from Dowdle. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out, but the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

Rico was the best option last year. I do see Blue being the best option this year and probably will be overall better than Rico.

Some factors to also consider is the offence will probably be much better than last with the addition of George Pickens and some OL help. Plus Dak being back.

This should be huge for the running game.

 

[Mr_437]

Production should be better this season with a improved OL and run scheme, and George Pickens being added should lighten up the box. It's just a better situation this season for success in the run game.

Rico is a better RB than any RB they have now, but Zeke was trash. So, I'd say the RB2 and RB3 is significantly improved. Cowboys didn't have the big play ability of a Blue last season and he's the difference at RB2 over a wore down Zeke. Cowboys still need a RB1 as this bunch is filled with RB2s and RB3s. I would say, Yes, the RB room is better this year because I think they will add a guy later to Blue, Javonte, and Luepke.

 

[KJJ]

We’ll find out if we’re better off when the season starts.