Dallas Cowboys: How will Christine Michael improve backfield?
This week, I wrote how the Dallas Cowboys needed and should trade for running back Christine Michael, and on Sunday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Cowboys have done just that.
Here is the tweet by Schefter Sunday afternoon:
In a trade with the Seattle Seahawks, the Cowboys obtained Michael for a seventh-round draft choice, but now we all must ask: how will the addition of Michael affect the backfield of the Cowboys a week before the season begins?
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This trade was a must-have for the Cowboys, and my prediction is before the end of the season, the now third-year back from Texas A&M will be a starter for the Cowboys, assuming they give him ample opportunity to earn that spot to move past Darren McFadden and Joseph Randle.
Remember, Michael is a former second-round selection, 62nd overall, who had very little opportunity to gain any momentum while in the NFL with the Seahawks.
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Michael had a yards per carry average of 4.9 in his two years on the Seahawks roster on 52 carries. Those carries led to a total of 254 yards, with 175 of those yards coming last season.
Also with this trade, will this leave Lance Dunbar as the odd man out when it comes to gaining carries? The Cowboys did use a draft choice to add Michael to their roster, so there must be something there they want to utilize with him.
It is also understandable to a certain degree why the Seahawks didn’t use Michael for this upcoming season to a certain degree, as they seem to want a more veteran backfield with Marshawn Lynch and now Fred Jackson carrying the football, but their loss is the Cowboys’ gain this weekend.
Now with all that said, and the stats out in the open, how does Michael improve the backfield? When everything is all said and done, that’s what matters the most.
I’m not sure how quickly Michael will learn the system of the Cowboys, but the faster he can learn it, hopefully the better the opportunity he’ll get with this club, because the are no running backs ahead of him on the depth chart who are as good as Lynch when he was on Seattle’s roster.
Depending on the situation, Michael can hopefully get some carries early in the season and eventually surpass the current three Cowboys running backs, because all of them have had some type of injury issue this preseason. Plus, to be honest, who is exactly sold on any of the three running backs being able to carry the Cowboys running game after what we saw and read during camp?
Maybe Michael can’t carry the load by himself either, but if he and Randle can run behind one of the best offensive lines, maybe the best, in the NFL, and have McFadden be a change of pace back or even come in on third down, the offense of the Cowboys is that much more dangerous.
The running back situation isn’t settled in my book, and the signing of Michael proves that with all they said this offseason, the Cowboys were not happy with who they had rushing the football.
Will Michael set the NFL on fire? That remains to be seen, but with the players creating paths, his overall ability, and if he’s given the proper chance to show what he can do at the NFL level, I believe the Cowboys got a steal with this trade and could have found a replacement for DeMarco Murray the week of the first regular-season game.
Better late than never, though.
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