Fantasy News: Cowboys' Rico Dowdle Named 'Lead' RB over Ezekiel Elliott, Dalvin Cook

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy indicated running back Rico Dowdle will shoulder a heavier load in the rushing attack.

McCarthy described Dowdle as the "lead back" Thursday when speaking to reporters. As a result, there appears to be a larger gap between he and the pair of Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook.

This shift is long overdue in the eyes of many fans because the status quo clearly wasn't working. The Cowboys are averaging the second-fewest rushing yards per game (83.7) and are tied for the second-fewest yards per carry (3.8).

Returning to Dallas hasn't halted Elliott's decline as his yards per carry are trending down for the third straight season. Cook is a shell of the ball-carrier who made four straight Pro Bowls. Dowdle, meanwhile, has actually been pretty effective, making his usage all the more puzzling.

Perhaps increasing Dowdle's touches proves counterproductive. He has only logged 20-plus carries once in his NFL career and hit double digits on six occasions. It's impossible to know definitively how his current production will translate.

Tony Pollard was a Pro Bowler and went for 1,007 yards in 2022 while splitting time with Elliott. As the Cowboys' primary option in 2023, he ran for two fewer yards despite carrying the ball 59 more times.

For his part, Dowdle indicated in October a bigger, more consistent role suits him.

"That's always been the case for me," he said. "As the games goes along, I think I get stronger and it was just about finding a rhythm. I was feeling good and they kept feeding me."

If nothing else, the Cowboys have nothing to lose by elevating Dowdle. At 3-6, they look like outsiders in the NFC playoff race, and Dak Prescott's season-ending hamstring injury means the running game is going to be more of a focal point for the offense.