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If there is anything good to come out of this mess of a season for the Cowboys, we might not see it for another six months or so. That, of course, is when the NFL draft will take place, and a break from finishing 12-5 and flopping in the playoffs could give Dallas the chance to add an impact player with a higher pick.
The Cowboys still are 3-3, which is not that bad a position to be in, but they face the seventh-toughest schedule the rest of the way, and the nature of their losses—two major blowouts at home, and a third that was a blowout until a fruitless fourth-quarter rally—suggest that this is not a team that is heading into an upswing.
Dallas could yet make the playoffs, and the NFC East is by no means out of reach. The Commanders are off to a good start, but they’re only one game ahead of Dallas and the Eagles are flailing almost as badly as the Cowboys. The Giants have been better, but they’re still the Giants.
But it’d be nice to be in position to draft a game-changer next year. And this week on ESPN.com, the Cowboys were predicted to land that game-changer: Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty.
Ashton Jeanty Chasing Barry Sanders Record
In case you’ve missed it, Jeanty has been the most dominant running back in college football this season, and one of the most dominant in recent memory. He has 1,248 yards rushing in just six games, with 17 touchdowns, leading the nation in both categories. He is averaging 9.9 yards per carry and 208.0 yards per game, giving him a shot at eclipsing Barry Sanders’ all-time record of 2,628 yards on the ground in one season.
And Jordan Reid’s latest mock draft at ESPN has the Cowboys picking Jeanty at No. 15.
How Reid sees it: “Jeanty is off to a historic start to the season, with the second-most rushing yards (1,248) and touchdowns (17) through six games in the past 20 FBS seasons. He has 841 yards after contact, first in the FBS and 255 more than the next-best rusher. The stats speak from themselves, and Jeanty would be an instant boost for the Cowboys as a runner and a receiver out of the backfield.”
Cowboys’ Running Game Is Struggling
Perhaps the only unfortunate aspect to the possibility of a Jeanty-Cowboys union is that Jeanty, a favorite for the Heisman Trophy, is not already in Dallas. The Cowboys have the worst running game in the NFL, last in the league in yards per game (77.2) and having put up only two rushing touchdowns.
The running back room of Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn has been a major—but predictable—disappointment.
A change is needed, and perhaps the Cowboys will make a trade in the coming weeks to at least patch up the brutal results. But getting Jeanty would bolster the offense, even if not until 2025.
As NFL Draft Buzz’s scouting report on him reads, Jeanty has: “Elite vision and anticipation; consistently finds and exploits gaps before they fully materialize. Rare combination of burst and long speed; can take any touch to the house from anywhere on the field. … Game-breaker who elevates his play in crucial moments; put-the-team-on-his-back mentality.”
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