The Dallas Cowboys lost star running back DeMarco Murray to the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency this offseason, and are hoping that one of the running backs on their roster can replace him. Unfortunately, those running backs are Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden. There has been speculation that Jerry Jones could look to add another running back before the season, but he seems very comfortable with Randle as the starter.
Jerry Jones expresses confidence that Joseph Randle can step in and be “the No. 1 back.”
— Charean Williams (@NFLCharean) July 29, 2015
Needless to say, this seems a bit of a strange move by Jones. Randle is a talented player, but he is nowhere near ready to be a starting running back in the NFL. He showed that last year by getting in trouble for shoplifting away from football.
During the 2014 season with the Cowboys, Randle ended up rushing for 343 yards and three touchdowns on 51 carries as a backup to Murray. He is just 23 years old, which does give Dallas some hope that he will mature from last season to this year. Perhaps all he needed was that type of an eye opening mistake to straighten his path, and maybe he can get back on track in 2015.
Even though there is a chance that he will turn things around with the Cowboys, there are still questions as to why Jones isn’t addressing the position more. McFadden has been known for having chronic injury issues, which makes Randle’s primary backup extremely unreliable. Randle himself is unreliable until proven otherwise, and if those two players can’t step up and take control of the position the Cowboys will be in major trouble.
One thing that the Cowboys do have going for them is their dominant offensive line. They made life a lot easier for Murray last year, and they can do that for Randle or McFadden this year. Despite their success, the line can only do so much when the running back doesn’t have a lot of potential.
All of that being said, it will be interesting to see what happens with the ground game in Dallas this season. Tony Romo had one of his better seasons last year due to the pressure that was taken off of his shoulders by Murray. If the Cowboys want their offense to continue being one of the league’s top units, then they’ll need Randle to step up and prove Jones right.
