Is Javonte Williams or Miles Sanders Starting for the Cowboys? Which Dallas Running Back Should You Draft in 2025?

Is Javonte Williams or Miles Sanders the RB1 for the Cowboys? Should you draft Williams or Sanders in 2025 fantasy football drafts? Joey's expert draft analysis and advice.

The Cowboys' running back room will look a bit different in 2025. After Rico Dowdle and Ezekiel Elliott manned Dallas' backfield a season ago, the team will feature a new set of running backs this year. Both Dowdle and Elliott are no longer with the team, and the Cowboys added four running backs this offseason. 

They signed Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders in free agency and selected Jaydon Blue (Round 5) and Phil Mafah (Round 7) in the 2025 NFL Draft. Given the experience of both Williams and Sanders, there is a strong chance that one of those two running backs will lead Dallas' backfield this season. 

But is Williams or Sanders the RB1 for the Cowboys this upcoming season? Which running back should fantasy managers be looking to target in 2025 fantasy football drafts? Let's dive in and find out. 

Javonte Williams Fantasy Football Outlook

Williams was one of the most exciting up-and-coming running backs following a solid rookie campaign in 2021. He finished with 903 rush yards and four touchdowns that season while finishing as the RB17 in PPR formats. However, since tearing his ACL back in 2022, the North Carolina product hasn't been the same. 

He has averaged just 3.6 yards per carry over the past two years and is coming off an abysmal season on the ground. Williams totaled just 513 yards with four touchdowns in 2024. Those subpar numbers led to a disappointing fantasy campaign for the 25-year-old. He finished as the RB30 in PPR formats while averaging a mere 9.3 fantasy points per game. 

Williams was an inconsistent fantasy option throughout last season. Although he provided some receiving upside, he finished outside the top-30 at the running back position in 11 of 17 games. He also rushed for less than 50 yards in 14 different contests as he split rushing opportunities with Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime. 

After another disappointing season for Williams, it's not shocking that Denver decided to let him walk in free agency. However, he quickly found a new home with the Cowboys. The four-year veteran signed a one-year, $3 million deal with Dallas in free agency and has a great shot to lead this backfield in 2025. 

Javonte Williams on a screen. pic.twitter.com/LguqEPhTX8

— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) July 31, 2025

Reports out of Dallas' training camp are that Williams has mostly played with the first team so far. That's a telling sign of how this backfield could play out throughout the season. Therefore, there's a strong chance that he leads this Dallas backfield in both carries and rushing yards this upcoming year. 

There's no doubt that Williams has struggled on the ground in recent years, but a change of scenery could help him return to his rookie year form. He will be running behind a very good Cowboys offensive line that just helped Dowdle run for 1,000 yards last year, and new head coach Brian Schottenheimer is a big believer in running the football. 

So, Williams could be a sleeper selection in the later rounds of your fantasy drafts. He should be the starter in this Dallas backfield and has some sneaky receiving upside as well. The 5-foot-10 back ranked 14th in yards per route run, sixth in receptions (52), and 14th in receiving yards (346) among all running backs last season. 

At just 25 years old, Williams still has plenty left in the tank to contribute solid fantasy numbers on an elite Cowboys offense. While it might be hard to rely on him as a consistent RB2 option throughout the year, he should emerge as a weekly flex play in most 12-plus team leagues. 

Miles Sanders Fantasy Football Outlook

Sanders has certainly had an interesting career arc. He started his career with the Philadelphia Eagles and had a few strong seasons there, including a 1,269-yard, 11-touchdown campaign in 2022. In all four of his seasons in Philadelphia, the Penn State product totaled at least 900 yards from scrimmage every year and averaged five yards per carry across 739 attempts. 

More importantly, he emerged as a reliable RB2 option for fantasy managers during his time with the Eagles. He finished as an RB2 in PPR formats in three of those four seasons -- RB14 (2019), RB24 (2020), and RB15 (2022) -- and averaged a solid 12.7 PPR fantasy points in his final season with the team in 2022.

Nevertheless, things started to go downhill for Sanders once he left Philadelphia. He signed a four-year, $25.4 million deal with the Carolina Panthers before the 2023 season, and his career took a turn for the worse. The Pro Bowl running back rushed just 129 times for 432 yards and one touchdown in his first year with the team before seeing even fewer opportunities in 2024. 

Sanders only rushed 55 times for 205 yards and two touchdowns with the Panthers last season. He played a reserve role behind Chuba Hubbard in that Carolina backfield and didn't do much on the ground. He did, however, have a strong all-around performance in his only start of the year in Week 18 with Hubbard out. 

The 28-year-old totaled 116 yards from scrimmage on 20 touches with two touchdowns. That helped him finish with 26.6 PPR fantasy points, which was his highest scoring fantasy game since Week 14 of the 2022 season. Now, Sanders will look to make an impact with a new team in 2025. The Cowboys signed the veteran to a one-year, $1.337 million contract during the offseason. 

The early report out of Dallas' training camp is that Sanders has mixed in with the first team on offense. While Williams has received the majority of them, it is encouraging that the six-year veteran is getting his chance to work with the starters. Jon Machota of The Athletic has also said that the new Cowboys back "has consistently stood out the most" in training camp. 

Miles Sanders pic.twitter.com/iUki18Npli

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) July 30, 2025

With Sanders performing well in camp, there will very likely be a role for him in this Dallas backfield. He should be the backup to Williams and will certainly see a handful of chances in this Cowboys offense. Nevertheless, he isn't worth a selection in most fantasy drafts this season. 

Sanders probably won't see enough volume to warrant a draft pick in most formats. Williams has been taking most of the first-team snaps, and Blue has been impressive in his first training camp. As a result, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the rookie eventually overtake the veteran for that RB2 role in this backfield. 

Who Should You Draft in Fantasy Football? 

There's a ton of uncertainty surrounding this Cowboys backfield in 2025. No one truly knows how this backfield will shake out. Will Williams be the clear RB1? How much will Sanders and Blue eat into his workload? Is Sanders or Blue going to be the RB2 for this team? All that uncertainty is why none of these three running backs are going inside the top-100 in drafts. 

However, Williams could turn out to be a fantastic value pick in drafts. He is the favorite to lead this Dallas backfield, and his receiving upside should allow him to stay fantasy-relevant throughout the year. The 25-year-old caught at least three passes in nine of 17 games in 2024. 

Javonte Williams pic.twitter.com/tGbmdiaXQc

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) July 30, 2025

As a result, Williams is the preferred running back to target in this offense. Sanders isn't worth grabbing in most formats, while Blue could be a nice bench stash as his workload should increase as the season progresses. Depending on how much Williams is utilized on offense, he could emerge as a high-floor flex option in 2025.

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