Most of the mock drafts for next month’s NFL Draft have the Dallas Cowboys laser-focused on taking an offensive lineman.
A few have them spending both their 1st and 2nd round picks on the line for that matter. All of them are dead wrong.
Should the season start today, the Cowboys have the players on the roster to start a solid offensive line.
What they don’t have is a bell cow running back to take some of the pressure off of quarterback Dak Prescott.
And that is why Dallas should make their first pick of the 2024 Draft a running back. The only question is: Do they make him a first round selection or not?
The Cowboys’ Options
Dallas could go ahead and use their pick at 24 on a running back. They would likely be the first team to take a player at that position.
And having their choice of this year’s prospects at running back is a good thing.
There is going to be a huge early run on quarterbacks this year. Not too many of the other teams should be eying a running back in the first round either.
So, barring an unexpected run – or the Cowboys making a major move up and drafting a quarterback as explained here – Dallas has two options.
First, pick the guy they want at 24.
Or, second, trade down and pick up another draft pick or two, then take the best available running back on the board.
Personally, unless there is an unexpected run, I’m trading down to get that additional draft capital. We’ll have to wait a couple of weeks to find out what Dallas has in mind.
The Top Prospects
If Dallas holds on to the 24th pick on Thursday, April 25th, look for them to take Texas running back Jonathon Brooks.
Yes, Brooks is coming off a serious leg injury. But the surgeon who repaired the damage has given him a clean bill of health.
And the Cowboys have ties to said surgeon.
Pre-injury, Brooks was getting it done for the Longhorns. Post-injury? We’ll have to see.
But he’s definitely a back worth spending a first round pick on.
Thanks to Dallas letting their starting running back go in free agency – and then not replacing him – they almost have to make this pick a running back.
And if you are one of those thinking they should bring back Ezekiel Elliott and he’ll become Elliott 2016 again then I have nothing for you.
Just go away now…
If Not Brooks?
The only other two backs I would consider taking late first, or early second, rounds are Tennessee’s Jaylen Wright or Florida State’s Trey Benson.
Both players out up solid numbers in their respective careers. Both players have all the tools to be a starting running back in the NFL.
Their numbers over the last two seasons are almost identical. Benson had 1,895 combined rushing yards in the last two years.
Wright had 1,888 yards over the same period. Benson did more as a receiver, but not by much.
If it comes down to a coin flip between these two players I’m leaning toward Benson.
Primarily because he played for a slightly better team – one that got shafted last year out of playing for a National title by the ridiculous Alabama bias in college football.
And there’s also watching the two players on film. Benson just seems to have an edge on Wright when I watch the two.
The Bottom Line
The Cowboys need a running back. More importantly, they need an RB1.
Whether or not it ends up being Brooks, Benson, or Wright doesn’t matter.
With their first pick in the draft – be it during Thursday’s first round or Friday’s second round – the Dallas Cowboys have to pick a running back.
And if they draft a tight end, y’all might need to start a GoFundMe for my bail money.