6 Cowboys Starters Who Will Be Replaced in the NFL Draft

1. Tony Pollard, RB

It seems as though the Cowboys are the kings of making a move just a little bit too late. They held onto Ezekiel Elliott for a couple of years longer than they needed to, despite seeing Tony Pollard out-perform him every season.

Once Pollard was outside of his rookie deal, and coming off of a broken leg, they decided to release Elliott and turn the reins over to Pollard. Dallas slapped the Memphis product with the franchise tag, keeping him under contract for one more year just over $10 million. Pollard started the campaign slowly as he was recovering from his fractured fibula and high ankle sprain suffered in the loss to San Francisco during the playoffs.

He began to come on a little stronger as the year ended and had 1,005 yards for the year, but was far from the explosive player we saw during the first four seasons of his career.

Now set for free agency, there’s an expectation that Pollard is going to leave for a different team. The Cowboys, on the other hand, are going to have to find a new starter. They don’t have anyone on the roster right now capable of taking over. Free agency could offer some decent options, but none of the available players are long-term options.

Arguably the most interesting name to watch is Jonathon Brooks from Texas. He’s coming off of a torn ACL, which might give the team pause considering Pollard was just slowed down due to an injury. Still, Brooks is by far the most versatile, and complete back in the entire draft. If they don’t take him, prospects such as Bucky Irving from Oregon or Trey Benson from Florida state also make sense.

Whatever they decide, the Cowboys have to find somebody else to take over as the running back. The only way Pollard sticks around is if he takes a veteran minimum which I just don’t see him doing.

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