It was clear that the Dallas Cowboys’ running backs would look very different this season after Tony Pollard signed as a free agent with the Tennessee Titans. Pollard has been the Cowboys’ best runner over the past two seasons, but in the modern NFL, running backs are often replaced by a younger draft pick at the end of their rookie contract.
The Cowboys, however, did not replace Pollard with a younger player. Dallas used its first three draft picks to build the trenches and did not select a running back at all in its eight selections in 2024. Instead, the Cowboys are turning to older running backs who were once among the best in the league in hopes they can recapture the magic that made them so special years ago.
The Cowboys’ starter this season is Ezekiel Elliott, the 29-year-old who led the NFL in rushing yards for Dallas in 2016 and 2018 and hasn’t even surpassed 1,000 yards in the last two seasons. On Wednesday, Dallas added another player to its running back room: former All-Pro Dalvin Cook.
Cook was possibly the best running back in the NFL in 2019 and 2020 as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. In 2019, he ran for 1,135 yards and 13 touchdowns, followed by 1,557 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2020.
The Vikings tried to get Cook to take a pay cut after 2022, and when he refused, he signed with the New York Jets before last season. He never looked like the same player, finishing with just 214 rushing yards on 67 attempts – a paltry 3.2 yards per carry average.
The Cowboys have had a very strange offseason overall. Quarterback Dak Prescott has yet to sign a contract and it might take the largest contract in league history to lock him up at this point. CeeDee Lamb finally has a new contract, but superstar pass rusher Micah Parsons does not.
Another odd decision is to bet everything on an older backfield with Elliott and Cook. Yes, Dallas also has Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn in the backfield, but it’s hard to say what to expect from them. Elliott and Cook would have been a fantastic tandem… in 2019. It might not work out so well in 2024.
Either way, the Cowboys will be exciting to watch this season. The roster is full of big names and the future of Prescott and Parsons is still uncertain. One thing is for sure: the Cowboys are never boring.
