RADIO
Justin Carter dives into the 2024 fantasy football outlook for the Dallas Cowboys running game with Tony Pollard gone and former star Ezekiel Elliott back in Dallas.
Nostalgia -- it's a powerful emotion. Lately, I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos about the mid-2000s, thinking about how the world of my teenage years differs from the world today. The other day, I watched an entire video about the aesthetics of Windows XP screensavers.
I mention this as Jerry Jones must be thinking about nostalgia too these days because after Tony Pollard left for the Titans in free agency, Jones turned to the past to fill the running back hole in Dallas. The team signed Ezekiel Elliott, a Cowboys legend who spent 2023 with the New England Patriots, to presumably take over the lead-back role from the departing Pollard.
With Elliott back in the fold, what can we expect to see from this backfield in 2024? Let's take a look at the state of the Cowboys backfield after a relatively rocky offseason for the team at the running back position.
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2023 Season Review
Following the 2022 season, the Dallas Cowboys finally moved on from Ezekiel Elliott. A two-time NFL rushing leader, Elliott's effectiveness had waned and the team felt confident handing the reins of the running back position to Tony Pollard on a full-time basis.
Pollard responded with a pretty good year. He actually finished with 62 fewer scrimmage yards than he did in 2022 while splitting time with Elliott, but 1,316 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns is nothing to scoff at. Sure, it wasn't the kind of breakout that Cowboys fans have been waiting for since the team used a fourth-round pick on him in 2019, but it was a year that showed Pollard can be a true lead back in the NFL.
If the #Cowboys get this version of the run game tomorrow (especially with the blocking across the board) Tony Pollard and Rico Dowdle should have success 🤟
*Also look at that burst from Rico 👀*#DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/SN4AF7Xt4d
— Brandon Loree (@Brandoniswrite) January 13, 2024
Behind Pollard, Rico Dowdle carried the ball 89 times for 361 yards and two touchdowns while catching 17 passes for 144 yards and two scores. Deuce Vaughn saw some touches as well, with 23 carries for 40 yards and seven receptions for 40 yards, but largely this backfield belonged to Pollard.
Offseason Changes
The biggest change for the Cowboys this offseason was the departure of Tony Pollard. Back in March, the Titans signed Pollard to take over for Derrick Henry, who left the Titans for the Ravens. There was a game of musical chairs among NFL running backs in free agency, with a number of big names moving to new teams. And when the music ended and everyone scrambled for their seats, it was the Cowboys left with nothing.
New @Titans running back Tony Pollard @Tp__5 in Tuesday’s OTA. pic.twitter.com/gd5v6nBTNE
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) May 21, 2024
In that initial wave of free agency, all the Cowboys did at running back was re-sign Dowdle. In April, the team made its first addition at the position, bringing in Royce Freeman.
Freeman might have moved the needle years ago, but the journeyman back has played for three different teams in the last three years. Last year with the Rams, Freeman had 77 carries for 319 yards and two touchdowns, but his production faded down the stretch once Kyren Williams was healthy. Over the final six games of the season, Freeman had 14 carries for 27 yards and one reception for 13 yards.
Then came the NFL Draft. Many expected the Cowboys would take a running back on the second day of the draft, but Day 2 came and went without the team adding a running back. The same thing on Day 3 -- four picks, but none on someone who could platoon with Dowdle. It looked like the team was content to let Dowdle take over as the lead back, with Freeman and Vaughn getting snaps as well.
And then came Zeke. Just days after the draft, the Cowboys signed their former star to a one-year deal. Last season with the Patriots, Elliott posted career lows in carries, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns, with 184 attempts for 642 yards and three scores. There were some moments, though, when he looked like his old self, and those numbers would have been better if he wasn't sharing the backfield with Rhamondre Stevenson for 12 games.
2024 Fantasy Football Expectations
The Dallas Cowboys head into 2024 with a running back room that's a clear step down from 2023. Pollard's only about two years younger than Elliott, but the wear on Elliott's legs puts them pretty far apart as far as playing age goes. Pollard plays younger than his 27 years of age, while Elliott, who turns 29 in July, is more likely to look like a player who is over the hill.
With that said, the general makeup of the Cowboys roster means that Elliott should enter 2024 as the lead back, though the approach will likely tend more toward a committee than toward Elliott as the bell cow. Barring injury, I expect him to look closer to his 2022 self than his 2023 self.
That year, the last of his original Cowboys run, Elliott had 876 rushing yards. It was his lowest at that point of his career, but he found the end zone 12 times. Maybe he won't have double-digit scores this season, but he should surpass last year's three rushing score number with relative ease. I'd consider Elliott to be a high-end RB3 option based on volume.
Dallas Cowboys' HC Mike McCarthy has said that he plans on taking a "Committee Approach" at the RB position for the season.
The RB's on the "committee"1. Ezekiel Elliott
2. Rico Dowdle
3. Deuce Vaughn
4. Royce FreemanSay this is, who are you drafting? #fantasyfootball… pic.twitter.com/qt7Ain6zxQ
— Will (@WillFF_) May 13, 2024
What could change that would be a breakout campaign for Dowdle. If Elliott's age catches up to him, Dowdle could take over as the lead back after a few games. Right now, I'd rank him as a low-end RB4, but there's RB3 upside there for him.
Deuce Vaughn and Royce Freeman are both currently off the fantasy radar, but I wouldn't be shocked to see Freeman get some touches if Elliott gets hurt. He's not a very dynamic back, but he could give the Cowboys a decent facsimile of what Elliott will bring on early downs. I'm not drafting Freeman, but I'd likely rush out to add him in the event of an Elliott injury.
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