6 Free Agents the Cowboys Should Sign Before NFL Draft

3. Ezekiel Elliott, RB

For some reason, the Cowboys can't seem to figure it out at running back.

At first, they took a hard-line approach and decided running backs could be easily replaced — and they were proven correct. They refused to sign DeMarco Murray to a long-term deal after he led the NFL in rushing in 2014. He then signed a massive contract with the Philadelphia Eagles and they went with Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden.

Murray was a bust for the Eagles, gaining 702 yards while going for 3.6 per attempt. Randle stole underwear and got kicked off the team after going for 315 yards at 4.1 per attempt and was replaced by McFadden for the final 10 games. The veteran went for 1,089 yards while gaining 4.6 per rush.

Despite this, the Cowboys broke the bank for Ezekiel Elliott just four years later — and were dead wrong. They had to cut Elliott the first chance it was financially feasible and paid Tony Pollard just over $10 million.

Now, they've gone too far the other way.

While it made sense to avoid paying Pollard the $24 million over three years he got from Tennessee, Dallas has sat back and signed no one. They've let one potential starter after another sign elsewhere in free agency and have put pressure on themselves to find someone in the draft.

They'll still need to land a running back in the draft but they should also get someone with more experience than Rico Dowdle — and they seem to have run out of options other than to bring Elliott back.

This isn't an ideal move but the other alternatives seem to be worse. Cam Akers is out there but he can't stay healthy. Dallas has also been linked to Dalvin Cook but he was terrible for the Jets. The Zeke reunion might need to happen.