Cowboys VP: No need to have a lead running back
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After a season where the Cowboys had the league's leading rusher in DeMarco Murray, who also set the franchise single-season rushing yards record at 1,845, club Chief Operating Officer Stephen Jones doesn't believe having a feature back is a must.
"I don't necessarily think that it's a necessity that you have a lead back," Jones told Dallas-Fort Worth 105.3 The Fan on Friday. "And it may be that one guy establishes himself as maybe getting more carries than the other backs. But at the same time, I think good teams can utilize the different skills that they have on their team. In our case, four running backs all have different styles."
Third-year veteran Joe Randle, a fifth-rounder out of Oklahoma State, fits the build of a lead back, but his experience primarily as a backup and off-field concerns present doubts to bequeath him the role of top running back.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Eight-year pro Darren McFadden, a free agent from the Oakland Raiders acquired this off-season, has had an injury-riddled tenure in the NFL. While possessing all the skills to be an every down back, he lacks the durability to be an every game back having only play a full 16 games once in his career.
Fourth-year Lance Dunbar is more of a scat back who also has zero starts under his belt, while new addition Christine Michael, who the club got from Seattle in exchange for a 2016 seventh-round pick, is more of a bruising back.
Jones says the team likes their running back stable and will develop them as the season progresses.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We feel real good about the three that we have in McFadden, Joe Randle, and Dunbar," said Jones. "And I also think that Christine Michael brings a lot to the table as well. So, we've got a strong offensive line up there. We're more committed than we've ever been to run the football, and I think we can do it successfully."
The team still has yet to announce who will start at running back Sunday night against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium, but Jones indicated the coaches will see "who's got the hot hand and go from there."
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