Cowboys: How Tavon Austin may be Theo Riddick 2.0 not Dunbar

The Dallas Cowboys have drawn parallels between Lance Dunbar’s old role on offense with Tavon Austin’s expected role, but the better comparison may be this former Linehan player

Shortly after trading for Tavon Austin during draft weekend, the Dallas Cowboys dubbed him their future ‘web back’. This title did little to explain his role since no one knew what the heck a ‘web back’ was.

Since then, the Cowboys have spent time defining the duties and expectations of the role. They even told us about the expected workload of 12-24 touches (To which I cry, “B.S.”. There are not enough balls on this team to justify such a role – not with a healthy Ezekiel Elliott, at least).

Even still, it seems the Cowboys have big hopes for their shiny new toy, and that role falls somewhere in between running back and receiver. Stephen Jones went on to say, “We intend to use him just like we’ve used Dunbar in the past”.

The Dunbar comparison temporarily satisfied many of us who were scratching our heads over the whole “web back” thing.  But considering Dunbar never had a season with more than 49 total touches (receptions, carries, and returns), that’s probably not the best comparison. The better comparison would be a former Scott Linehan ‘web back’, Theo Riddick.

Related Story: Are the Cowboys being realistic with Tavon Austin's role?

Theo Riddick

Theo Riddick was Tavon Austin before it was cool to be Tavon Austin. From his days at Notre Dame to his career in Detroit, Riddick has always had problems fitting a traditional role on offense. The 5’9” 201 lbs playmaker often split time between receiver and running back.

As a web-ish back, his role is to stretch the field (often horizontally) and make defenses pay for overcommitting. Much like Tavon Austin, Riddick is threat in the open field and must always be accounted for. Even when Riddick isn’t getting the ball, he’s making an impact by spreading out the defense and creating opportunities for others.

While Lance Dunbar may have played a part-time web back role with Dallas a couple years ago, Theo Riddick has been playing it full-time – on a level that’s nearly on par with the 12-24 touch forecast Stephen Jones spoke of.

For instance,

In 2015, Theo Riddick caught 80 passes and rushed 43 times. He amassed 830 yards and 3 touchdowns (52 yards per game). In 2016, injuries relegated him to just 10 games, but he still caught 53 balls and rushed for 92 times in those games. Over a 16-game season that projects to 85 receptions and 147 rushes. In that season he averaged over 14 touches per game and 73 yards per game.

According to what Stephen has been saying, those two seasons by Theo Riddick appear to be closer to the role Tavon Austin will be asked to play.

Riddick was never a lead back nor the starting slot receiver. He was a jack-of-all-trades and certified playmaker.

Scott Linehan and Theo Riddick only overlapped one season in Detroit but the connection is there and the similarity between Riddick and Austin is undeniable. To compare him to Lance Dunbar might be easier for Dallas Cowboys fans to understand, but it’s a little misleading since the Cowboys clearly have a bigger role in mind for Austin.

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It’s clear the Dallas Cowboys have high hopes for their new web back. And to get a better idea of what those hopes are, go back and watch the film of the Detroit Lions (particularly 2015 and 2016). Theo Riddick is a pretty good example of what to expect.