The Dallas Cowboys will follow up their first winning season in three years without their most important offensive player from 2014. Running back DeMarco Murray, who led the NFL with 1,845 rushing yards last season, signed a five-year deal worth $40 million with the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency. In his place stands Darren McFadden, who the Cowboys signed to a two-year deal for almost $6 million.
Dallas has a talented offensive line that features three first-round picks, a luxury every running back in the NFL would love to have. But even with Dallas' superior blocking up front, McFadden will not be able to effectively replace Murray.
"Half of Cowboys Nation is thrilled Murray is gone. The other half is depressed. Nearly all will agree acquiring McFadden is a downer," ESPN's Jean-Jacques Taylor wrote.
"It's easy to see why, if you compare him to Murray. McFadden played an entire 16-game season just once in his first seven seasons, and he gained a thousand yards once. He has had 13 100-yards games in his career; Murray had 12 the past season."
There's absolutely no way the Cowboys don't add another ball carrier sometime this offseason. The team has been linked to Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon and Georgia's Todd Gurley in the NFL draft. But even if they don't add another rusher, it's unlikely the Cowboys will abandon their ground-and-pound ways so soon.
"Murray is gone, but the running game remains the epicenter of the Cowboys' offense, and that's not going to change," Taylor wrote. "It's the Cowboys' offensive approach that allows the defense to play above its pedigree, and it keeps Romo healthy. With Romo's back injuries - he had surgery each of the past two offseasons - every hit might be the one that ends the 34-year-old's career.
"The runner matters. Don't buy into the silliness that as long as they have two or three guys who combine for 1,800 yards, it's the same as having Murray out there.
..."McFadden will get a chance to be that guy, but absed on his career, there's no evidence he can handle that role. He has averaged fewer than 3.5 yards per carry each of the past two seasons, but Oakland has been abject on offense the past few years, so extenuating circumstances could exist."
The Cowboys are entering some uncharted territory. How do they remain one of the best rushing teams in the league without a capable running back? Remember, along with his prodigious yardage on the ground, Murray also caught 57 balls. It will prove near impossible to replace that type of production, especially if the oft-injured McFadden is the top option.
