Given the immense talent of their offensive line, it's a bit surprising that the Dallas Cowboys have had to play musical chairs with their running backs this season. When DeMarco Murray left in free agency this offseason everyone jumped onto the Joseph Randle bandwagon. Then, once the season started, Lance Dunbar emerged as a PPR monster as a third-down back. Once he got hurt and Randle continued to be unspectacular, trade acquisition Christine Michael received a lot of hype before spending more time on the sideline than on the field in each of his outing as a Cowboy. Now, Darren McFadden, the unlikeliest candidate given his years-long injury struggles and poor play in Oakland, is the top dog with the best looking stat line.
"The Cowboys' Darren McFadden was impressive against the Seattle Seahawks, providing more than 100 yards from scrimmage in the loss," ESPN Fantasy Insider Eric Karabell wrote. "He doesn't appear to have competition, as Christine Michael is the clear backup and it's recommended to cut Joseph Randle. If the Cardinals' [Chris] Johnson can shock us with immense value, I suppose crazier things have occurred than McFadden doing so as well, but I'm skeptical..."
It's fair for Karabell to be skeptical. McFadden has played a full 16 games just once in his career and the last time top he topped 3.3 yards per carry for a season was way back in 2011. Yet the veteran ball carrier has been impressive as the lead back over Dallas' last two games. In that span, he has run the ball 39 times for 216 yards (5.5 YPC) and one touchdown to go along with 8 receptions for 59 yards. With Randle dealing with a back injury and Michael firmly entrenched as a backup, the door is wide open for McFadden to continue getting the lion's share of the work.
Will he make the most of it? Will Dallas' offensive line rejuvenate him? We'll give it one more game before we jump to any conclusions.
