The Dallas Cowboys made enemies out of many members of their fanbase in the offseason with their approach to the running back room, as they chose to let. an improving young player bolt in free agency while replacing him with multiple fringe starters off very poor seasons.
The Cowboys brought in Javonte Williams, who was fresh off a horrible 2024 season with the Denver Broncos, to be the leading member of a committee that also featured former Eagles back Miles Sanders. Rico Dowdle, an undrafted free agent who notched a 1,000-yard season, signed with the Carolina Panthers.
After two weeks, Dallas appears to be the big winners of this offseason shuffle. Williams has asserted himself as the leading man in the Dallas backfield, rushing for 151 yards and three touchdowns while catching six passes in a win against the rival New York Giants.
Dowdle, meanwhile, is a firm backup behind Chuba Hubbard for a 0-2 Carolina Panthers team. Dowdle has just nine carries for 21 yards in the first two games of the season, and Hubbard’s performance means that he is unlikely to assume a big role in this offense anytime soon. Jerry Jones has messed up a lot lately, but he knocked it out of the park here.
Cowboys replacing Rico Dowdle with Javonte Williams was genius by Jerry Jones
Williams’ biggest issue in Denver was the fact that he looked slow and incapable of reeling off explosive plays down the field. With the Cowboys, he appears to be completely transformed, as he has been looking much livelier while maintaining his nose for the end zone.
Williams has been so good that Sanders has been relegated to a firm backup role and rookie Jaydon Blue has been completely taken out of the offensive picture. He leads all NFC running backs with 4.1 yards after contact per carry, and his 4.87 EPA per play is the highest among RBs entering Week 3.
While Dallas doesn’t have the best offensive line in the world, Dowdle is quickly finding out that the holes he was running in between were the result of Zack Martin and the recently extended Tyler Smith dominating. Carolina’s line isn’t giving him that same freedom to operate.
Dallas may not get this performance out of Williams every single week, but running back quickly went from the biggest position of need to one of the biggest strengths on the roster. Both Jones and Will McClay deserve credit for this risky decision.
