2023 position breakdown: Is Tony Pollard’s backup already on the roster?

Good morning Cowboys Nation; with the draft less than a week away, I want to dive into one of the most critical positions on the depth chart for Dallas in 2023. The running back position.

Going into the 2023 season, the Dallas Cowboys will be without Ezekiel Elliott for the first time since 2016.

They made the right decision for him, but doing so leaves them a bit thin.

Tony Pollard is a superstar, but coming off a significant injury.

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1594470136819220480

Pollard underwent surgery this offseason to repair the ligaments from a high ankle sprain he suffered in the division-round playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

With all that said, do we see the Cowboys drafting a running back in this season’s draft, or do they roll with Pollard and Ronald Jones, who the team signed last month?

They also re-signed Rico Dowdle and still have Malik Davis. I like Davis a lot, but do any of us think they could take on a more significant role?

Davis is a maybe, but Dowdle is back simply for depth.

It is hard to trust anyone behind Pollard now; Rojo would be slated right now as the backup but had a minimal role a year ago. One positive is that he has shown he can carry a decent load when asked.

His best season as a pro came in 2020 when he carried the ball 192 times for 978 yards and seven touchdowns. He also caught 28 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown.

For a backup who is ONLY 25, that is a suitable type of player to have behind Pollard.

TP can’t carry the ball 25 times a game for 15-17 games; he isn’t that type of back. We understand that. Rojo helps for now, but if they don’t land Bijan Robinson at pick 26 in the first round, I would wait to grab a running back.

If Robinson is not there near the end of the first round for Dallas, I would wait until at least round 4 to take a running back.

Tyjae Spears and DeWaynce McBride are names I LOVE in the later rounds. Spears is elite as a receiver, just like Pollard. They are close in similarly.

You can use him on outside runs, etc.

McBride is a player only a few are talking about. He combined for more than 3,000 yards over the past two years. He has good size and balance and can run with power.

He doesn’t catch the ball ever. He only had five catches in 30 games at UAB, so we know he is a big-time runner!

DeWayne McBride would've run for 1,400 yards in 1998 pic.twitter.com/AQI0JQQaR8

— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) April 14, 2023

If the Cowboys can land one of those guys, I would love it.

This team is sitting pretty as the draft looms near. With the biggest needs met via trade this offseason, this team can experiment after the first two rounds.

Pollard will be the starting running back in week one, but it remains to be seen who will be his backup. I still think whether they draft a running back or not, they will be fine with Jones and Davis behind Pollard.