For years the debate has raged between NFL analysts: do running backs actually matter? While there’s little question that passing is more efficient no matter who your quarterback is, the idea that they don’t matter at all in the modern game is tough to swallow – especially this offseason when teams started handing out big contracts to star running backs for the first time in what feels like decades.

If you find the running back discourse tiring, you may be in luck because the Dallas Cowboys might finally be able to settle this debate once and for all depending on how their 2024 season goes. Not too long ago the Cowboys were paying through the nose at this position, but right now they have what looks to be the weakest running back room in the league.

That’s according to ESPN analyst Mike Clay, whose projections for the 2024 NFL season show Dallas dead last in his rankings of all 32 running back units around the league.

From top to bottom the Cowboys will most likely be trotting out Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dawdle, Deuce Vaughn and Royce Freeman. Snoop Conner, Malik Davis and undrafted rookie Nathaniel Peat will compete for whatever scraps are left.

That’s pretty far from an intimidating running back room on paper, even if you assume that Elliott will look more like the version of himself we last saw in Dallas in 2022, when he posted 876 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground – as opposed to last year in New England when he managed just 642 yards and three scores.

On film Elliott looks about a step and a half slower than he was at his peak from 2016-2018, when he led the NFL in rushing yards per game three straight years. The Cowboys offensive line is also not nearly as formidable as it was in those days, so it’s not like they can just put any back out there and expect them to produce.

They have more pressing positional needs (such as WR2 and iDL) but this is one spot that Dallas might want to address before the regular season begins in September. Among the best free agents who are still available are Cam Akers, Matt Breida and Damien Harris.

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