Cowboys news: Running back is one of Dallas’ biggest holes heading into the draft

Dowdle? Elliott? A rookie? Who might lead Cowboys’ RBs in 2024? - Todd Archer, ESPN

Questions continue surrounding Dallas’ running back room.

FRISCO, Texas — Last season, Dallas Cowboys running backs combined for 1,425 yards and nine touchdowns on 370 carries.

Tony Pollard took 252 of those carries along with 1,005 yards and six touchdowns with him to the Tennessee Titans as an unrestricted free agent.

Re-signed to a one-year deal, Rico Dowdle is the Cowboys’ leading returning running back after rushing for 361 yards and two touchdowns on 89 carries in 2023. The others? Deuce Vaughn had 23 carries for 40 yards. Hunter Luepke, a fullback, had six carries for 19 yards and a touchdown. That’s it. Malik Davis spent most of the season on the practice squad and did not have a carry last season, but he had 38 for 161 yards and a touchdown in 2022.

“We’re not done with that room by any means, whether it’s a veteran or there is a draft pick,” coach Mike McCarthy told reporters at the recent annual league meeting. “Signing Rico back was important. He was someone who was part of the one-two rotation last year, so we feel good about him.”

After previously paying top-of-the-market amounts at running back for Ezekiel Elliott and Pollard, the Cowboys have changed directions.

Now they are hoping to prove that teams can, indeed, find running backs anywhere.

The Cowboys have the fifth-fewest 2023 rushing yards by running backs returning for 2024, but the four teams ahead of them have addressed the position. The New York Giants (70 yards) lost Barkley but signed Devin Singletary. The Los Angeles Chargers (102 yards) lost Austin Ekeler but signed Gus Edwards. The Cincinnati Bengals (260 yards) traded Joe Mixon but signed Zack Moss. The Eagles (364 yards) lost Swift but added Barkley.

“I think we’re having to make some tough decisions right now,” executive vice president Stephen Jones said. “This is an organization that’s been built on great backs, whether it’s Tony Dorsett, Herschel Walker, Emmitt Smith, Ezekiel Elliott or Tony Pollard. We’re big believers in backs. They bring a lot to the table. Unfortunately, we’re at a point where we have to make some decisions in terms of where we allocate dollars.”

Famed Coach Begs Dallas Cowboys Not to Move ‘Special’ Tyler Smith - Geoff Maggliocchetti, Sports Illustrated

The debate continues on the future of Tyler Smith.

Many have chided the Dallas Cowboys for not making enough changes this offseason, but a renowned name behind the gridiron scenes is imploring them to stay the course the one major area.

Duke Manyweather, well-regarded for his work with offensive linemen, offered his thoughts on the Cowboys’ ongoing nurtering of Tyler Smith. Dallas’ first-round pick from 2022 has lived up to his premier billing and then some, but heightened expectations await this fall with Tyron Smith’s departure to New York.

Some have theorized that Tyler Smith (no relation) could take over at left tackle since Tyron’s green makeover will leave the blind side blank for the first time since 2010. Manyweather practically begged the Cowboys not to consider the thought in an X post published over the weekend.

“The Cowboys shouldn’t even consider moving Tyler Smith,” Manyweather, headliner of the blocking scouting service OL Masterminds, declared. “It would be a huge mistake for the OL and for Tyler’s continued development. He’s a SPECIAL OG!”

Tyler Smith spent time on both the inside and outside during his college days at Tulsa and Cowboys management has implied such a strategy by lauding his versatility. Manyweather, however, argues that just because the Cowboys could exploit that strength, doesn’t mean should, as they’d risk missing out on what he believes is a premier project at guard.

“ I’m not moving a guy who is special at a position to another position he may just be ok at, then have to fill the position he left that he was special at,” Manyweather said in a follow-up. “How does that help your OL?”

Pondering Tyler Smith’s future is perhaps a gritty first-world problem, but it’s an issue nonetheless. If Smith were to truly succeed Tyron, the active options to take over the interior spot next to him would be second-year men TJ Bass and Asim Richards, who were respectively added from the college free agent board and the fifth round.

DaRon Bland gets sizable payout for 2023 campaign - Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com

Bland proves that ‘if you play good, they pay good,’ after record-setting season.

FRISCO, Texas — DaRon Bland is getting a pleasant surprise this spring from the NFL, thanks largely to his outstanding performance on the field for the Dallas Cowboys in 2023. The 24-year-old finds himself rewarded under the league’s Performance-Based Pay distribution model this offseason — a sum he’ll surely enjoy.

Bland, who set an NFL record for most pick-sixes in a single season, led the league in interceptions and logged a career-best 15 starts in his second year as a pro, has earned an additional $759,756 in salary for his efforts.

That puts him in the top-20 of performance-based earnings.

The 24-year-old is the latest remarkable defensive back talent to be groomed in Dallas but, unlike Trevon Diggs before him, Bland is a former fifth-round pick out of Fresno State, and that makes his ascension (and a rapid one) to the upper echelon of cornerbacks that much more jaw-dropping.

To date, he’s already delivered 14 career interceptions, five defensive touchdowns (all pick-sixes), 22 pass break ups and 124 combined tackles in only 23 career starts — numbers good enough to help him land honors as both a Pro Bowler and First-Team All-Pro.

As for the system that is sending nearly $800,000 to Bland this April, it’s one established by the NFL and NFLPA as a part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement as a fund that is used to supplement player compensation based upon a comparison of playing time versus their actual salary.

Those who garner the most playing time but who also have a lower salary are precisely who the fund is designed to benefit, as Bland can now readily attest.

It goes without saying that Bland earned his performance payout, and he and the Cowboys would absolutely love to see him duplicate his efforts in 2024.

Mayor of Dallas rooting for Chiefs to move back to Dallas - Charean Williams, PFT

How would you feel about this?

The Chiefs’ future is very much in doubt after Jackson County, Missouri, voters overwhelmingly rejected a sales tax extension that would have renovated Arrowhead Stadium. Before Tuesday’s vote, Chiefs president Mark Donovan had threatened the team could leave if the measure didn’t pass.

Where would they go if they did move?

Dallas mayor Eric Johnson, who repeatedly has pitched his city as a candidate for an NFL expansion team, posted an invitation to the Chiefs on social media.

“Welcome home, Dallas Texans!” Johnson wrote, adding a smiley face emoji and a hashtag suggesting the team could play in the Cotton Bowl in South Dallas’ Fair Park.

“Dallas was named the top sports city in the United States because we play to win,” Johnson said in a Wednesday to the Dallas Morning News on Wednesday, referencing last year’s Sports Business Journal best sports cities ranking. “As I have said previously, our market is big enough, growing enough, and loves football more than enough to support a second NFL team — especially a franchise [and an owner] with deep roots here.”

Blogging The Boys Podcast Network and YouTube Channel

We offer a different show every single day on the Blogging The Boys podcast network, and on weekdays we offer two different shows every single day.

• Monday: 1st and 10 with Tony Catalina & Aidan Davis
• Monday: Hidden Yardage with Mark Lane and Sean Martin
• Tuesday: The Writer’s Block with Brandon Loree, David Howman, Brandon Clements and Chris Halling
• Tuesday: BTB Roundtable with various BTB Staffers
• Wednesday: NFC East Mixtape with RJ Ochoa and Brandon Lee Gowton
• Wednesday: Talkin’ The Star with Connor Livesay and Joey Ickes
• Thursday: The Ocho with RJ Ochoa
• Thursday: Ryled Up with Roy White and Tom Ryle
• Friday: Girls Talkin’ Boys with Kelsey Charles and Meg Murray
• Friday: The Star Seminar with Danny Phantom and Rabblerousr
• Saturday: The World’s Team with Meg Murray and Paul Stewart

We also offer live shows every weekday afternoon on the Blogging The Boys YouTube Channel.

The Blogging The Boys podcast network is available on all major podcast platforms.

Subscribe here on Apple devices.

Subscribe here if you are a Spotify user.