The Dallas Cowboys felt comfortable not matching Philly's five-year, $40 million offer to running back DeMarco Murray in free agency this offseason, despite him leading the NFL in rushing with more than 1,800 yards last season. Instead of ponying up, Jerry Jones and company offered a simple "good luck" and went about their business. How could they be so nonchalant about losing their top offensive performer? To answer that, all you have to do is look at their offensive line.
The unit features three 24-year-old first-round picks in Tyron Smith (LT), Travis Frederick (C) and Zack Martin (RG). Undrafted free agent La'El Collins is a first-round talent who is expected to compete with Ronald Leary for the left guard spot. Jones and the Cowboys believe that any rusher will be successful behind that line.
But which running back will be the starter? Cowboys fans and fantasy football owners want to know. Entering training camp, the competition is between Joseph Randle, Darren McFadden and Lance Dunbar.
"Sizing up the three names of not based on talent alone, Randle would be my bet to snag the lion's share of duties," ESPN NFL Insider Field Yates wrote. "He's 6-feet, 198 pounds and has more than adequate speed to do damage in the open field. His 6.7 yards per carry in 2015 needs to be couched a bit when considering the sample size (just 51 attempts), but if he earns north of 240 carries in 2015 (15 per game), there's no reason to believe he can't surpass 1,000 rushing yards. All that being said, McFadden and others are worth keeping an eye on. While I'd be reticent to invest in McFadden for a 16-game stretch, if he does emerge as the starter, he still has just enough straight-line speed, and there should be ample running room, that he has to be on the fantasy radar. If Randle secures a starting gig in camp, I view him as a top-20 running back."
Randle is talented yet unproven with just 105 career carries. Jones recently endorsed him as the lead RB, but it's unknown if he can handle the load of a feature back. McFadden is far removed from his best years and hasn't averaged close to 4.0 yards per carry in three seasons. Randle is best suited in a complementary role. All in all, it will be interesting to see how things shake out in Dallas' backfield.
