National Football League

The Dallas Cowboys running back situation after Murray

Published Jun. 6, 2015 12:40 p.m. ET

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By Neftali Cruz

The departure of Demarco Murray to the Philadelphia Eagles (via free agency) has left a lot of questions being asked as to who will be his successor. It is May 2015 and that question has not been answered yet. Although the Dallas Cowboys have signed Darren McFadden, they are still keeping their eyes peeled for a running back who can contribute to the team. Right now in OTAs, the Cowboys seem to have a running back by committee situation in the backfield. The running backs right now are: Joseph Randle, McFadden, Lance Dunbar, and Ryan Williams. This may not be the permanent solution to the running back situation in Dallas, but its what they have to work with.

McFadden is the latest addition to the team and the featured name amongst the four running backs. McFadden and Murray are one year apart in age with the former being the older out of the two. McFadden came out of college a little earlier than Murray having three full seasons over him. NFL Analysts say that the age and shelf life of Murray were concerns with the Cowboys and the price for his services is something the front office did not want to pay. Murray having (in NFL Terms) 4 or 5 good seasons left in him swayed the Cowboys to take their running game in a different direction. Even though McFadden is the cheaper option between the two, I am a little perplexed on what direction they are truly taking with McFadden. At McFadden’s best, his statistics are not as great as Murray’s and he is not projected to have a year close to what Murray did in 2014. I feel that McFadden is a temporary fix that the Cowboys paid cheap for hoping that they will get a big bang for their cheap dollars.

Joseph Randle and Lance Dunbar are the returning backs that split time backing up Demarco Murray last year. Both backs have shown promise, but were limited in carries due to the workload Murray had shouldered. Both have done their part in limited time and produced when called upon. They did have success behind that amazing offensive line and demonstrated they can contribute to the team’s success. If the Cowboys feel that they do not have a featured back they can go to, I can see a dual running attack by Randle and Dunbar. I know that is a reach, especially if you see the career numbers of both Randle and Dunbar, but this can be the season both running backs start to define their careers.

The running back situation is going to be dependent on one thing -- and that is the offensive line. Murray went from being a good running back to a great running back who led the NFL in rushing last year. Offensive lines make the difference in a game and in this case they are the biggest difference in the Cowboys’ running game. There was a time not too long ago when the offensive line wasn’t at this superior level, and it was a bit of a struggle to have a good running game. I don’t know what is going to happen with the running back situation, but what I do know is this Cowboys team is going to pick up where they left off. One position will not define a team and one situation will not tell the story of a season. The music keeps playing in the backfield for now, but when the music stops we will see who is ready for the season.

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