Twitter: Postgame takeaway - RB2 is still up in the air

[Jarntt]

Blue and Mafah both looked like RB3s to me.

Of course it didn't help that Run Blocking wasn't that great when they were in the game the first half.

Davis looked decent in the 2nd half but the Oline was getting good movement.

Don't feel good about the RB2 situation.

If your view of the #2 RB position didn't at least tick up a little bit last night, I don't know what to tell you. They all ran hard and looked good. You can't just go by the stats either. Those short yardage pickups too were a good sign as were a couple of those receptions moving forward with purpose. They all looked like they actually wanted to win the job.

 

[America's Cowboy]

The Blue hatred is absolutely ridiculous. The Blue haters hate on Blue while they praise Mafah even though Mafah averaged less per run than Blue did. What's worse is the haters don't understand why both Blue and Mafah struggled to run the ball well the whole 1st Half? It's because the Oline stunk it up badly and played too high, meaning the opposing D-line was consistently able to stay low and plug up any potential running lanes. The Oline had no push and got dominated, opposed to the 3rd string Oline who performed way much better the whole 2nd Half, hence why both Davis and Abanikanda had much better averages and overall rushing yards compared to Blue and Mafah.

 

[jaybird]

Blue and Mafah both looked like RB3s to me.

Of course it didn't help that Run Blocking wasn't that great when they were in the game the first half.

Davis looked decent in the 2nd half but the Oline was getting good movement.

Don't feel good about the RB2 situation.

Hands down Davis is RB2
Blue not an NFL Rb
Mafah is RB3
Unless someone offers to trade for Davis, he has to be on the roster, against the Giants

 

[Jarntt]

I don't think Israel gets enough love. Blue and Mafah were late round picks for a reason. Just because they were Cowboys picks shouldn't automatically put them in front.

Sure, but that makes little sense as a point when Abanikanda was also a late round pick, yet in his case hasn't even had a touch in a real game for the past two seasons...

This staff has stressed competition and IMO has shown they will play the guy they think is the best player this year. Until dethroned it's Davis and he was undrafted. Clearly the best man will win and I have no guess who that will be right now. Yes, their comments and actions state that they want Blue to be the guy, but he isn't being handed the job. If his habits revert back to how they were last year and/or someone proves better, he'll rightly be gone.

 

[Jarntt]

The RB room was a weakness last year and will continue to be so this year as well.

The Cowboys haven’t been serious about drafting a RB since Zeke.

Even if you got the nod to pollard he was still at the end of the fourth round.

Javonte had 1,200 yards and 11TDs. The running back room begins and ends with him. The other guys are backups only and they are there to give him a breather or if injury strikes and Davis was fine in that role last year even if not spectacular or as good as we would like. With the holes on this team signing Javonte instead of using a draft pick has been one of the things they did best.

 

[RandyOh]

If nothing changes. Davis will be on the 53, and they could look for a RB on the waiver wire.
I was not impressed with Blue, nor Mafah.

hopefully some one decent comes the waiver wire. i had looked up best free agent RBs on the market and we mine as well bring back Zeke

 

[darthseinfeld]

Blue and Mafah both looked like RB3s to me.

Of course it didn't help that Run Blocking wasn't that great when they were in the game the first half.

Davis looked decent in the 2nd half but the Oline was getting good movement.

Don't feel good about the RB2 situation.

Our RB may not be on the roster right now

 

[darthseinfeld]

I don't think Israel gets enough love. Blue and Mafah were late round picks for a reason. Just because they were Cowboys picks shouldn't automatically put them in front.

Izzy might be the most talented of the HB candidates

 

[Kwyn]

Javonte had 1,200 yards and 11TDs. The running back room begins and ends with him. The other guys are backups only and they are there to give him a breather or if injury strikes and Davis was fine in that role last year even if not spectacular or as good as we would like. With the holes on this team signing Javonte instead of using a draft pick has been one of the things they did best.

Those are some stats that he had

I had concerns about him fading down the stretch and his red zone efficiency. His ypc for the season was a really good 4.8, but in the red zone he was 2.9. Top RBs in the league were around 4 ypc in the red zone. Williams was pretty much a battering ram in the red zone and that sounds cool but it’s really not.

Our red zone rushing was probably the top offensive problem we had last year because it forced us to rely on Dak’s arm, since he can’t run in the red zone either, for us to score TDs.

He’s a good player, but probably not top ten and the team signing him was as much about his locker room presence and stability as it was about him being a game changing RB. He’s a solid workhorse contributor who is an excellent cultural fit.

I like him just fine but considering his limitations last year, a knee that is can likely never really be structurally sound and the fact that we have nothing behind him is, in my opinion, a really tenuous situaiton. Malik Davis was mainly a practice squad player last year and came back late precisely because there was no one behind Javontae.

If he even repeat what he did last year, red zone struggles included, I’ll be content. There’s no good way to move on until the 2028 off season anyway.

 

[kskboys]

Blue and Mafah both looked like RB3s to me.

Of course it didn't help that Run Blocking wasn't that great when they were in the game the first half.

Davis looked decent in the 2nd half but the Oline was getting good movement.

Don't feel good about the RB2 situation.

Oooooo, it looked more like Davis is solidly the #2 right now. Thinking it was all the OLine is only seeing what you want to see. Davis was excellent at finding the hole and making little moves for extra yardage. He looked very competent.

Mafah looked slow. Blue goes down if you breathe on him. Abby looked like a competent 3rd back. Not sure what's wrong w/ him or why he hasn't had NFL success, as he's quick and powerful.

 

[kskboys]

Davis looks like a nice change of pace back with that breakaway speed. Looks like its his job to lose. Would like someone beefier for that RB3 spot in case Williams misses time.

Maybe Abby, who is 5-10/217. Showed nice power.

 

[kskboys]

Davis is the guy until further notice. He looks more polished than all of them.

And it really wasn't close.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Those are some stats that he had

I had concerns about him fading down the stretch and his red zone efficiency. His ypc for the season was a really good 4.8, but in the red zone he was 2.9. Top RBs in the league were around 4 ypc in the red zone. Williams was pretty much a battering ram in the red zone and that sounds cool but it’s really not.

Our red zone rushing was probably the top offensive problem we had last year because it forced us to rely on Dak’s arm, since he can’t run in the red zone either, for us to score TDs.

He’s a good player, but probably not top ten and the team signing him was as much about his locker room presence and stability as it was about him being a game changing RB. He’s a solid workhorse contributor who is an excellent cultural fit.

I like him just fine but considering his limitations last year, a knee that is can likely never really be structurally sound and the fact that we have nothing behind him is, in my opinion, a really tenuous situaiton. Malik Davis was mainly a practice squad player last year and came back late precisely because there was no one behind Javontae.

If he even repeat what he did last year, red zone struggles included, I’ll be content. There’s no good way to move on until the 2028 off season anyway.

Thats where Izzy might help. He is limited. He isn't going to he a perimeter guy, , he isnt going to be a passing downs guy, but between the tackles the guy can be a hoss

 

[darthseinfeld]

And it really wasn't close.

He had a solid run the second half of thr season. Unlike the others, we know he can run on NFL defenses. The others were really going to have to show something to leap frog him. Blue, being a potential multi purpose guy, had a chance. But it doesnt look like thats going to happen

 

[boysfanindc]

The RB room was a weakness last year and will continue to be so this year as well.

The Cowboys haven’t been serious about drafting a RB since Zeke.

Even if you got the nod to pollard he was still at the end of the fourth round.

I don't see how the RB room was a weakness last year when they finished the 2025 NFL regular season ranked 9th in total team rushing offense, recording 2,136 total rushing yards on 465 carries (averaging 125.6 yards per game and 4.6 yards per attempt) with 18 rushing touchdowns.

Davis is a solid #2 and he has produced every time you put him on the field, has vision and runs hard.

 

[Kwyn]

I don't see how the RB room was a weakness last year when they finished the 2025 NFL regular season ranked 9th in total team rushing offense, recording 2,136 total rushing yards on 465 carries (averaging 125.6 yards per game and 4.6 yards per attempt) with 18 rushing touchdowns.

Davis is a solid #2 and he has produced every time you put him on the field, has vision and runs hard.

They were bad in the red zone, as I explained

Williams was 30th in red zone efficiency and our red zone production overall is the biggest offensive concern going into this season.

 

[kskboys]

The Blue hatred is absolutely ridiculous. The Blue haters hate on Blue while they praise Mafah even though Mafah averaged less per run than Blue did. What's worse is the haters don't understand why both Blue and Mafah struggled to run the ball well the whole 1st Half? It's because the Oline stunk it up badly and played too high, meaning the opposing D-line was consistently able to stay low and plug up any potential running lanes. The Oline had no push and got dominated, opposed to the 3rd string Oline who performed way much better the whole 2nd Half, hence why both Davis and Abanikanda had much better averages and overall rushing yards compared to Blue and Mafah.

Don't hate him, and I've been rooting for him hard. Just haven't see much from him. I refuse to adjust what I see just because I'm rooting for him. Must be my mule head!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[kskboys]

Thats where Izzy might help. He is limited. He isn't going to he a perimeter guy, , he isnt going to be a passing downs guy, but between the tackles the guy can be a hoss

Exactly what I saw. Breaks tackles and has great little phone booth moves. Intriguing player, and looks like he can be quite useful. If he can pass block. His scouting report says he isn't good at it, which is why he hasn't been able to stick. Maybe he's learned?

 

[Kwyn]

Hands down Davis is RB2
Blue not an NFL Rb
Mafah is RB3
Unless someone offers to trade for Davis, he has to be on the roster, against the Giants

No one is trading for Malik Davis. He was a practice squad player almost the entire season and no one picked him up.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Exactly what I saw. Breaks tackles and has great little phone booth moves. Intriguing player, and looks like he can be quite useful. If he can pass block. His scouting report says he isn't good at it, which is why he hasn't been able to stick. Maybe he's learned?

Maybe he can be a HB version of Laurent Robinson. Talented guy that takes some moving around before he figures it out. Izzy is only 23 too