It was not until the third round hit the board in the 2024 NFL draft that a running back finally got his name called. And, as has been much-discussed, it was not the Cowboys who called a runner at that point, nor at any other time in the draft. Instead, the Cowboys kept their focus on the way their board was arranged and because no backs were in the vicinity when it was their time to pick, they simply let the draft go without making a rookie addition.
That might not be the case in 2025, however. At Pro Football Focus, they’re projecting the Cowboys to have an eye on at least one running back throughout the upcoming football season. Not just any running back, either—they’re seeing the Cowboys keeping their eye on a player being called the best running back in the game, even in the 2024 season.
For a team projected to go into this year with two veteran retreads (Ezekiel Elliott and Royce Freeman) and unproven back-benchers (Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn, Malik Davis) on the depth chart, monitoring the status of a potential star at the position makes sense.
Especially if that player is a versatile playmaker like Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty.
Ashton Jeanty Racked up Big Numbers in 2023
Jeanty was outstanding last season and was a first-team All-America for College Football Network, ESPN and USA Today. He led all of college football with 159.7 yards per game from scrimmage, and added 19 total touchdowns. While he works out of the backfield, his versatility is a major selling point—he caught 43 passes in 12 games, for a total of 569 yards.
That’s exactly the kind of player who could raise the level of the Cowboys’ offense. In an article titled, “2025 NFL Draft: One offensive player to watch for all 32 NFL teams,” PFF’s Trevor Sikkema tabbed Jeanty as the guy worth keeping an eye on for the Cowboys.
“Simply put: Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty was the best running back in college football last year,” he wrote this week. “With a wide receiver background, he is a true threat as both a runner and receiver. He recorded more than 1,900 all-purpose yards with 0.55 PFF wins above average, the sixth-highest single-season WAA score for a college running back in the PFF era. The Cowboys have the lowest-ceiling running back room in the NFL heading into 2024, and Jeanty would be an obvious fix.”
Cowboys Entering 2024 With Weak RB Room
Heading into the 2024 draft, of course, the Cowboys appeared destined to pick a running back, having lost Tony Pollard in free agency and having failed to sign a replacement.
But, when given a chance to pick a running back with the 87th pick in the third round—MarShawn Lloyd from USC was the next player drafted, with Jaylen Wright and Bucky Irving leading a fourth-round run on backs—the Cowboys instead went with Notre Dame linebacker Marist Liufau.
Linebacker was a need, no doubt, but running back appeared to be much more pressing. Cowboys vice president of personnel Will McClay later explained to the Dallas Morning-News that the need for a running back was just not that pressing.
“If you try and force something, you might forgo another player at another position that can help your roster. The board was set,” McClay said.
“There were players that were there and there were runs that went on different positions. As those runs went, they took away from our board at certain positions. You look at the depth and the value of the players at the other positions plus that quote-unquote position of need and it didn’t fall to where we could have picked a back at any point in time based on where the board was. Of the right value.”
