Cowboys confident Ezekiel Elliott can lead a running back-by-committee backfield
The Cowboys do not have an RB1 on their roster and might not when the season starts. Ezekiel Elliott is the starter by default after signing a one-year deal Tuesday.
The Cowboys did not draft a running back with any of their eight picks despite a stated interest in the top player at the position, Texas' Jonathon Brooks. They didn't reach for one after 15 running backs went between the Cowboys' 87th overall pick and their next one at 174.
The team knew it had Elliott as a fallback after the sides met the night before the draft.
So, Elliott joins Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn and Royce Freeman in what looks like a running back by committee.
Elliott's touches and yards have declined every season from the previous season over the past five seasons. He had only 235 touches in 2023 when he started five games for the Patriots.
“Zeke is a winning, starting running back in the league,” Will McClay, the Cowboys vice president of player personnel, told Joseph Hoyt of lonestarlive.com on Wednesday. “So, you turn on the tape. You saw him do things, running power gap schemes, running inside and outside zone, helping in pass protection – all those things to show that the ability was still there. Adding him to this roster, it adds a guy that, No. 1, loves football; that wants to win here; that wants to be here; and that adds something to the roster from a leadership standpoint, as well as an ability to play.
“I think the running back position this day and age is not that old-school, one-guy as the lead back and the others fill in. It’s a group by committee. What he’ll add to that group, we’re excited about it.”
The Cowboys tried a wide receiver-by-committee approach in 2018 with then-rookie Michael Gallup, Tavon Austin, Allen Hurns, Deonte Thompson, Cole Beasley and Terrance Williams. It went so poorly the team traded for Amari Cooper before the trade deadline.
They could do the same this season if Elliott isn't what they hope he still is.
