Tired of hearing just how poorly constructed the Cowboys running game is? Weary of lamenting the foolish decisions made by doddering owner Jerry Jones this offseason, including the complete failure to pursue Derrick Henry, who would have welcomed a chance to play for the Cowboys, if only they’d carved out room for his modest contract?
It’s hard to blame you. But, too bad. It’s all still true.
The Cowboys’ ugly running game is hardly the only piece of the disappointing puzzle that the early season has been, but it is emblematic of the way this franchise appears to have failed its offseason. Other mistakes were made, but none as easy to grasp as the fact that the Cowboys let Tony Pollard leave in free agency and replaced him with an older, broken version of Ezekiel Elliott.
Don’t expect a Cowboys home-run swing to fix the running back room ahead of the trade deadline on November 5. The Cowboys are decidedly reluctant to make in-season trades, and while most of the would-be deals concocted in all corners of the internet are sensible, they’re unlikely.
Owner Jerry Jones has deluded himself into a certainty that he has put together a good team, no matter the evidence to the contrary. So, even a well-reasoned and modest trade proposal for a running back that is very much available ahead of the deadline is a long shot. Still, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell has put one together that oozes with good sense.
Cowboys Would Have to Axe Ezekiel Elliott
In his column this week titled, “The 12 deals we want to see at the NFL trade deadline: DeAndre Hopkins, Bryce Young on the move,” Barnwell pegged the Cowboys adding Bears running back Khalil Herbert as one of the possibilities.
Herbert is a fifth-year back who has had some decent seasons in Chicago as part of what was a running back committee that actually had talent on hand. He’s no star, but he would be an upgrade over the Cowboys current trio of Elliott, Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn.
Here’s what Barnwell wrote about the trade pitch: “There’s no Derrick Henry lurking as an immediately impactful back, but what about adding another set of fresh legs to compete with Dowdle? Herbert is probably not the sort of back to shoulder a workload of 20 carries per game, but among the 46 players with 300 carries or more between 2021 and 2023, his 4.9 yards-per-carry average ranks seventh.
Adding a running back most likely means the end of the line for Elliott, because the Cowboys are very unlikely to keep four halfbacks, plus Hunter Luepke at fullback. Someone would have to take the fall, and though Elliott is a well-liked teammate, he’d be the best bet.
Khalil Herbert Is Odd Man Out
Herbert is talented, a former sixth-round pick in 2021. He ran for 611 yards on 132 carries last season, for an impressive average of 4.6 yards per rush. But the Bears have a running back crunch, and free-agent signee D’Andre Swift is getting more run these days.
It’s not hard to get more run than Herbert, actually, who has just eight carries for 16 yards on the year. That’s something of which the Cowboys should take note. Any underused impending free-agent running back on another team’s roster should warrant a call from Dallas.
Herbert is not designed to be a chief load bearer in any competent running game. But he can chew up carries and break off chunk runs. The Cowboys are lacking that element.
“Ranking 28th in success rate suggests Herbert was hitting big plays as opposed to racking up steadier gains, but the Cowboys’ longest run of the season has gone for 12 yards,” Barnwell wrote. “Herbert had 24 runs for 13 or more yards during his first three seasons with the Bears. Some explosiveness wouldn’t hurt, even if he would only become a part of the rotation.”
