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Dallas Cowboys Shouldn’t Reach on First Round RB

By Maxwell Ogden

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One of the most popular theories in football circles is that the Dallas Cowboys will select a running back with their first round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. The seemingly unrealistic hope in most mock drafts is that either Melvin Gordon of the Wisconsin Badgers or Todd Gurley of the Georgia Bulldogs will be available.

If they aren’t, and even possibly if they are, the Cowboys should refrain from using their first-round draft pick on a running back—and that has nothing to do with their other needs.

It’s very fair to see why Cowboys fans are hoping for a star running back to be added to the mix. Dallas was a run-oriented team in 2014, and that led it to its first postseason appearance since 2009.

Furthermore, Jerry Jones has cultivated one of the most dominant offensive lines in the NFL. With such a reliably consistent output from the offensive line, the logical step is to put a star running back behind them.

That can be and, more times than not, is done after the first round.

DeMarco Murray

was phenomenal for the Dallas Cowboys in 2014. He was also a third-round draft pick. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

2014 in Review

Tony Romo played wonderfully, but the team MVP for the Dallas Cowboys in 2014 was running back DeMarco Murray. He ran for a league-best 1,845 rushing yards and recorded 13 touchdowns as the pace-setting skill player for Dallas offensively.

Unfortunately, Murray left the Cowboys to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles. That’s left Dallas in a franchise-altering predicament.

Can the Cowboys win with the talent they currently possess at running back? Or do they need to utilize the draft to find the next great player at a position so commonly associated with the team?

The answer: Dallas should draft a running back, but not in the first round.

Murray was stellar. He was also a third-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

In fact, the last time the Cowboys selected a running back in the first round was 2008 when they took Felix Jones. Before Jones, it was Emmitt Smith in 1990.

Smith clearly worked out well, but there’s a reason Dallas has selected two first-round running backs in a 25-year span. Generally speaking, the best value is found in the later rounds.

That’s not only true for the Cowboys, but for the rest of the NFL.

Le’Veon Bell

is a primary example of how much talent can be found after the first round at running back. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

What Should They Do?

The Dallas Cowboys need to improve at running back, and there really isn’t any way around that. The Cowboys signed Darren McFadden, but he has an extensive injury history.

Even if he were able to remain healthy, McFadden hasn’t reached 1,000 yards rushing since 2010 and has accumulated a yards-per-carry average of 3.4 or less in three consecutive seasons.

It’d be a remarkable story to see McFadden experience a dramatic turnaround, but it shouldn’t be expected. Nor should one make the against-all-odds assumption that Lance Dunbar or Joseph Randle will enter star territory as soon as 2015.

Thus, the Cowboys must use the draft to land a running back whom they can build around. They just shouldn’t utilize the first round to do so.

In 2014, 12 of the 13 players to rush for at least 1,000 yards were drafted after the first round.

In 2014, 12 of the 13 players to rush for at least 1,000 yards were drafted after the first round. The only 1,000-yard rusher who was a first-round draft pick: Marshawn Lynch of the Seattle Seahawks.

Lynch was selected in a very distant 2007 NFL Draft.

With a deep crop of running backs in 2015, the Cowboys’ best bet would be to avoid reaching for a running back in the first round. Having Gurley fall to No. 27 would throw a wrench into all of these plans, but that’s the point of not reaching.

The one and only reason for Dallas to pull the trigger on a first-round running back is if they’re the best player available. Even then, it would be wise to wait until the later rounds.

As cliche as it may be, patience tends to be a virtue when drafting running backs.

Next: Who should the Dallas Cowboys select in the 2015 NFL Draft?

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