Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith expects the team to make some sort of move — whether that's at running back or along the offensive line — before the end of the season.
Following the Cowboys' 44-19 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 2, Smith says he's “concerned,” pointing towards several flaws on the team, including their running game, offensive line and run defense. While speaking to ClutchPoints in a one-on-one interview, Smith admits that he expects Dallas to make a move to upgrade their current situation.
“Eventually they're going to make a move, period,” says Smith while speaking on behalf of his partnership with Depend. “Whether it's at the running back position or along the offensive line. There are some issues, there are some holes on offense right now. And those issues have to get resolved. It's not all on the running game. Yes, they are averaging that, how many attempts are they getting, is the question? And have they been given the opportunity to catch the ball out of the backfield to help take the pressure off of Dak Prescott? There's a number of things that's going wrong that I'm looking for the Cowboys to get corrected.”
Cowboys' running game
Dallas' running game has been an issue through the first two games of the season, ranking 26th in rushing yards and yards per attempt. They also rank just 19th in rushing touchdowns despite bringing short-yardage threat, Ezekiel Elliott, back in the offseason.
However, Smith does bring up a good point in that Dallas is not committing to the run. The Cowboys rank just 24th in rushing attempts and they're not really getting the running backs involved in the passing game, with Elliott and Rico Dowdle combining for nine receptions.
It's worth mentioning that Dallas' defense was bludgeoned against the Saints, giving up touchdowns on their first six possessions. Because the Cowboys were trying to play catch-up during the entire day, it obviously made them shift their game plan away from the running game.
With that being said, the Cowboys obviously had a deficiency at the running back position entering the season, starting the year with an over-the-hill Elliott as their starting running back. The team did sign four-time Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook, who isn't too far removed from an 1,100 rushing yard season with the Minnesota Vikings in 2022.
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Although Mike McCarthy has yet to commit to a debut date for Cook — the veteran back is currently on the practice squad — Smith anticipates the 29-year-old back to make his debut sooner rather than later.
“I think the sooner the better,” Smith says of Cook's potential debut with the Cowboys. “All because when you have a Dalvin Cook, an Ezekiel Elliott and a Dowdle in the backfield, you have a lot of different options and things that you can do and schemes that you can incorporate into your offensive system. That doesn't necessarily change everything that we do. But you're putting in talent on the football field and you're giving your talent a chance to make plays for you. And that's what we need right now, we need a little more versatility within our offense. A scheme that affords the backs to be utilized in a way that helps our offense outside of just running the football.”
The Cowboys will find out sooner rather than later whether they need to make a move when they host the Lamar Jackson-led Baltimore Ravens in Week 3. Although the Ravens are 0-2, they finished the 2023 season with the NFL's best record at 13-4.
