The Dallas Cowboys signed veteran running back Darren McFadden during the free agency period to help replenish their depth after the departure of DeMarco Murray. It has been common speculation that he and Joseph Randle will compete for the starting job this summer.
Even though McFadden and Randle are both receiving positive feedback during practices this offseason, the Cowboys are not committing to any one running back at this time:
“We got some very good football players,” running backs coach Gary Brown said, via The Dallas Morning News. “With the addition of Darren it’s going to be a nice group. I can’t say who is going to be the lead dog right now, but those guys are going to compete and we’re going to do what’s necessary to win games.”
Furthermore, offensive coordinator Scott Linehan strongly eluded to the Cowboys relying on a committee effort this year. In addition to McFadden and Randle, the Cowboys boast Lance Dunbar and Ryan Williams at running back.
Linehan further discussed the team’s plan:
“I just think that we have a complementary backfield. They’re going to spread out the carries. Some games are going to be different than others. Maybe one guy is going to have more in one game than the other or maybe sometimes two guys are going to split the carries, sometimes it’s going to be three. Again, it’s to be determined. It is a bit rare to have the one guy carry all the load. I tip my hat to DeMarco for being able to do it.”
Needless to say, this would be a fantasy football owners worst nightmare. The Cowboys were fortunate that they got the mileage they did out of Murray last season with his ridiculous 1,845 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.
It’s likely the team wants to experiment with each of the backs in different situations to see who excels in certain types of plays. Perhaps down the road, there will be one clear lead running back who steals the job.
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