Cowboys' Failure to Address RB in NFL Draft Will Be Team's Undoing in 2015

Each year in the NFL draft, there are picks that leave fans and pundits alike scratching their heads. It never fails.

2015 was no exception. However, for the Dallas Cowboys, it wasn't so much the picks they made as the one they didn't.

And unless the team pulls a rabbit out of their 10-gallon hats, the Cowboys' failure to address the running back position in the 2015 NFL draft will cost them dearly in the upcoming season.

After watching DeMarco Murray (who led the NFL in rushing in 2014) bolt Dallas for the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency, the prevailing wisdom was that Dallas would look to the backfield fairly early in this year's draft.

No dice. The Cowboys didn't draft a back on Day 1. Or Day 2. Or Day 3.

Team owner Jerry Jones told David Moore of The Dallas Morning News that the right opportunity to select a running back just never presented itself in Chicago:

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Running back did not come our way. We would have liked to have drafted a running back, but by the same token we didn't think at any given time we should pass on the player that was there with the running back there.

We weren't trying to make a point that we didn't need Murray. That was not the point at all.

"

Despite that rather curious decision, the greatest running back in team history (Emmitt Smith) said on Shan and RJ on 105.3 The Fan (via Mac Engel of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram) that he's OK with the current state of the backfield:

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You know what? I am OK. Darren McFadden, that is a running back you have to respect. You have to remember he played out in Oakland. Oakland doesn't have what the Cowboys have. And so having an offensive line, and a quarterback like Tony Romo, and some receivers, and a system that makes some daggone sense, he can become a better running back in this system.

And (with backup running back Joseph) Randle, you can have a nice one-two punch. The one thing with McFadden, if he gets some of those running lanes that I saw DeMarco have last year, and it's on - he can take it to the house.

"

Those sentiments were echoed by center Travis Frederick while speaking with Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News:

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I think it's probably a little bit of faith in us, but I think it's also faith in the running backs we have right now. It's a really good group of guys. I'm really excited to watch them run, especially run together as kind of a 3-headed monster. LD is so quick and shifty, then we got Joe who just hits the hole and makes such crazy cuts, and obviously Darren is in there and he's the difference-maker.

"

On at least some level, Frederick has a point. Whoever starts at tailback in Big D will run behind one of the NFL's best offensive lines. The Cowboys ranked first in run blocking in 2014, per Football Outsiders, and second in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.

Still, the Dallas offensive line could consist of Thor, the Hulk, the Thing, Superman and Juggernaut, and the Cowboys would still be in trouble by running the ball in 2015 with their present group.

Because, despite all the protestations to the contrary, that group ain't great, folks.

Player	Age	Exp.	2014 RY	1K Years
Darren McFadden	27	7	534	1
Joseph Randle	23	2	343	0
Lance Dunbar	25	3	99	0
Ryan Williams	25	3	0	0

McFadden, the "difference-maker" you "have to respect"?

Um, it's not 2010 anymore.

Since gaining 1,157 yards for the Oakland Raiders back in 2010, McFadden has topped 700 yards on the ground once. That's the same number of times he's topped four yards a carry. It also is the same number of times McFadden has played in 16 games in his seven-year NFL career.

McFadden's last three seasons: 3.4 yards a carry, 3.3 yards a carry and 3.3 yards a carry.

Blame Oakland's porous offensive line all you want, but facts are facts. The oft-injured but talented and explosive back has seen those injuries sap what made him special to begin with. He's an average back on a good day.

Randle has shown the occasional flash with the football in his hands, but his career-high in touches is 115 two years ago. He's been arrested twice in the past seven months.

Lance Dunbar? Eighty career carries in three seasons. Ryan Williams? Five out of 32 possible games with the Arizona Cardinals from 2012-13 and a stint on Dallas' practice squad last year.

What happens when McFadden gets hurt? Or Randle gets arrested? Or both?

And this isn't just any team facing big questions in the backfield. Only the Seattle Seahawks gained more yardage on the ground last year than the Cowboys. Only the Seahawks and the Houston Texans ran the ball more often.

That ground game was a big part of the Cowboys' push to the playoffs in 2014. With Murray chewing up yardage on the ground, there wasn't as much pressure on quarterback Romo to carry the offense. The result was the highest passer rating (113.2) of Romo's career and an NFC East title.

Now, that pressure's back, and while the Dallas O-line is still among the NFL's best, its ground game no longer is. In fact, Dallas has next to no chance of fielding a top-five run game in 2014 as things stand today.

Well, at least Romo was able to carry the Cowboys offense successfully before last season, leading Dallas to all of those playoff appearances on the strength of his right arm.

And if you're wondering which playoff appearances I'm talking about, that's exactly the point.

Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter at @IDPSharks.