Cowboys: Darren McFadden, Designated Pass-Protector?

By Reid Hanson | Sep 3, 2015

The roles of the Dallas Cowboys running backs are yet to be announced, but it’s looking like Darren McFadden may have a very specific role.

The biggest question of the Dallas Cowboys’ offseason has yet to be answered. At least publicly, that is. Since the day the Cowboys let DeMarco Murray leave to Philadelphia , we have wondered, who will replace Murray in Dallas?

At the time, Joseph Randle was already on the roster, but he seemed more like a “Plan B” than an automatic shoe-in for starting running back. Darren McFadden was quickly signed, but he didn’t look like much more than an “insurance policy” should everything else fall through. Besides those two, the Cowboys didn’t really hold a legitimate challenger to take the role of lead back.

Here we are, roughly a week away from the start of the 2015 regular season and not much else has changed. We still don’t know who will be the starting ball carrier in Dallas, or even how the carries will be divided between them.

Running Back By Committee (RBBC) has been thrown around plenty, and it makes sense why. The NFL is clearly trending in that direction because under heavy workloads, RBs, all too often, break down late in the season . We saw it firsthand as DeMarco Murray’s production took a significant dip down the stretch.

But if you listened closely throughout training camp, and if you believe Jason Garrett wasn’t just smoke-screening us from his true intentions, you would have heard the word “Roles” mentioned suspiciously often.

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RBBC may still be a vaguely correct description of what the Cowboys are planning, but Running Back By Role would probably be more accurate. The easiest role to predict is that of #3 RB, Lance Dunbar. Dunbar, 5’8” 195 lbs, doesn’t have the size or strength to be a lead running back. He does possess a special set of skills that make him an excellent change of pace back.

As the change of pace running back, Dunbar will be expected to take the ball on draws, screens, as a check down option, and even split out wide as a receiver. He’s not going to get many traditional carries between the tackles or asked to pass-protect, because those assignments simply don’t play to his strengths.

Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden have their own strengths and weakness as well. Joseph Randle has a proven ability to make game breaking moves at the second level. If he can get through the original hole, he can take it to the house.

Randle’s weakness happens to be one of Darren McFadden’s strengths. Pass-protection. We questioned Randle’s pass-protection all offseason, all training camp, and still today. According to dallascowboys.com’s Brian Broaddus, Randle has been doing less pass-protection in practice, while McFadden has been doing more.

So close to the regular season, this is a big indicator that Jason Garrett is starting to nail down roles. Does this mean Darren McFadden is destined for the lead ball carrier role? Probably not. Especially since if he is the only trusted RB pass-protector, the Cowboys can’t afford to overuse him and injure him.

"“A lot of people are going to put a lot of emphasis on it, and the competitor in me is going to say that I want to be the starting running back, Darren McFadden said. “But knowing what it all boils down to at the end of the day, we’re both going to get carries – however they decide to play it out.”"

How it boils down is both will get carries, but McFadden will be in the backfield in passing situations and Randle will be in the game in those running situations. This doesn’t mean that if Randle is in, the Cowboys are always going to run the ball, or vice versa.

Last season, DeMarco Murray was on the field for 341 passing plays but only stayed in to pass-protect for 71 of those passing plays. If the Cowboys continue that trend they will only call for RB pass-protection 20.8% of the time. Many times that is when the Cowboys are in obvious passing situations.

It’s therefore reasonable to assume that Joseph Randle would handle the bulk of 1^st and 2^nd down carries, while McFadden handles most 3^rd down and obvious passing situations. Lance Dunbar will be sprinkled in here and there (he’s also a poor pass-protector) and you probably end the day with a 50/40/10 split in carries favoring Joseph Randle.

"“You know, man, I’m a football player, McFadden said. “I feel like I’m going to be ready whenever, whether I get four carries or zero. For me, whenever it’s time, it’s time.”"

The hot hand will inevitably rule all, especially since neither player stood out in training camp. But with only Darren McFadden as a proven pass-protector, he will need to be used accordingly.

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