It will be no small thing for the Dallas Cowboys to find a running back to replace the recently departed DeMarco Murray, last season's leading rusher in the NFL.
Strong offensive line or no, Murray was able to rack up 1,845 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns on 392 carries. The addition of Darren McFadden, formerly of the Oakland Raiders, in the NFL's free agency period is a quality first step, but comes nowhere near adequately replacing Murray's prodigious production.
The Cowboys and team owner/GM Jerry Jones seem content to enter the 2015 NFL Draft with a running back depth chart topped by McFadden, Joseph Randle and Lance Dunbar, but all indications point to Dallas adding a ball carrier with one of their early selections come April.
"Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who is attending the NFL owners meetings this week, confirmed that the Cowboys are planning pre-draft visits from the top backs in the draft led by Todd Gurley of Georgia and Melvin Gordon of Wisconsin. They are also bringing in Tevin Coleman of Indiana, Jay Ajayi of Boise State and Ameer Abdullah of Nebraska," Clarence E. Hill, Jr. of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
Gurley and Gordon are widely viewed as the top two backs in the coming draft and both may be selected in the first-round. Gurley faces questions about his durability after he tore his ACL in November, but as Lance Zierlein of NFL.com notes, he's otherwise viewed as a potential top-five NFL running back.
Gordon finished last season for the Badgers with 2,587 yards rushing and 29 touchdowns on 343 carries. He's tall and angular and has the speed to hit a home run every time he touches the ball. He doesn't provide a lot in terms of pass-catching, but his speed around the corner is unmatched.
Ajayi has been compared on numerous occasions to Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch thanks to his rugged stiff arm and thick, wide-based running style. The comparison is obviously premature, but Ajayi could be a great fit for the Cowboys if they'd prefer to use a second-round selection on shoring up their backfield.
Coleman and Abdullah are both versatile backs, with Coleman potentially projecting as the best three-down runner in the draft, as noted by CBS Sports, thanks to his pass-catching and quality work in pass protection. Abdullah is more of a scat-back and while he has the explosive potential to make his mark at the next level, he lacks ideal NFL bulk and has faced questions about his ball security.
For Dallas, McFadden possesses the talent of a former high first-round pick, but he's struggled to stay healthy and the idea of the Cowboys depending on him to be the feature back next season seems not only farfetched, but illogical.
With the 27th overall pick in the first-round next month, the Cowboys may very well look to add Murray's replacement and the new bell-cow back for head coach Jason Garrett's power-running offense.
