Cowboys Draft: How High is too High for a RB?
By Reid Hanson
For the Cowboys, is there an optimal spot to draft a running back these days?
Gone are the days of the workhorse running back. In 2015 only seven RBs broke the thousand yard mark. The Cowboys’ Darren McFadden only finished with 1,089 yards, yet somehow ranked #4 in rushing yards. This is not your father’s NFL, that’s for sure.
But it was only a year ago DeMarco Murray put the Cowboys on his back and led them to a 12-4 record while rushing for 1,845 yards on a staggering 392 carries. Was he the exception to the rule or a sign of what could be?
Murray’s success last season was certainly no fluke. He was every bit the workhorse Adrian Peterson has been and probably could be again if the right team committed to him. But it’s undeniable that the NFL is opting for more of a committee approach to RB rather than committing to one back.
Part of this is money-based, meaning if a team splits the carries and splits the glory amongst multiple ball carriers, they effective keep the value low on the position. With QBs and WRs commanding more and more every season, cuts have to be made elsewhere and elsewhere is often the RB position.
The running back position has become a “one contract and done” position for many teams. Teams will draft a young ball carrier and ride him for the length of his rookie deal. Then they allow the free agent to depart in free agency only to be replaced with a cheaper younger model.
Rinse and Repeat.
Sometimes a budget friendly veteran is brought in to bridge the gap and provide insurance (Darren McFadden), but often times veterans are the back-up plan and not “the plan”.
The Cowboys seem to be belivers of this strategy, choosing to invest more heavily in the offensive line and less in the ball carrier. As dallascowboys.com’s Mickey Spagnola always says, you can’t have steak at every position. Essentially meaning – you have go cheap somewhere so pick your poison.
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If the Cowboys are hell-bent on following this investment doctrine then they must draft accordingly. A successful team re-signs their 1st, 2nd, and sometimes 3rd round players to second contracts making them building blocks for the team. It’s a red flag if a team doesn’t retain it’s top picks because it usually serves as a sign of poor drafting and/or poor financial management if they do not.
Because of this, the Cowboys simply cannot draft a RB in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft if they have no intention of retaining said player. It would be a poor investment. If the Cowboys want to treat the RB position as a replaceable part, they need to draft accordingly and not even consider a ball carrier until the third round of the NFL Draft.
There are exceptions to every rule, of course – Adrian Peterson being one and Todd Gurley being another. If you have one of those two RBs you keep them at all costs and invest a little less in the offensive line. If the Cowboys go this route and try to nail down a workhorse like them (Ezekiel Elliott appears to be the closest thing this draft) they must be willing to cut costs somewhere else down the road.
Over the next three seasons the Cowboys will be investing big in retaining their league-best offensive line. That will make it tough to reinvest in a RB’s second contract in 4-5 years…but not impossible.
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Consider this: Tony Romo has realistically three seasons left in him. After that, the Cowboys will have roughly an extra $20M off the payroll. With a cheap (hopefully young) QB picking up the reigns behind center, The Cowboys could easily afford to spend big at both the O-line and the RB positions. Unfortunately, if they also invest high in Romo’s replacement this year, his replacement would be looking for a new deal about the time of Romo’s retirement, giving the Cowboys virtually no savings at QB and making it impossible to re-sign both a RB and the O-line.
The point is there are consequences to their actions in the draft. If they invest high in a position (rounds one or two) they MUST be willing to invest high in a second contract.
Next: Draft: Twin Razorbacks in the Cowboys' Backfield?
How high is too high to draft a RB? It completely depends on your intentions and whether you’re willing and/or able to live with them down the road.