The Dallas Cowboys used four running backs in their preseason opener against the Seahawks on Saturday night, and the best of the bunch–the guy who might have the inside track on the job of backup to Javonte Williams–appears to be Malik Davis (seven carries, 39 yards). That’s good for Davis, a reliable and well-liked presence on the roster for the past fie years now, but it’s not great for the state of the Cowboys running game. Davis is a strong special teams player and a break-glass-emergency at running back, so having him No. 2 on the depth chart is concerning.
The Cowboys had entered the offseason hopeful that 2025 fifth-round pick Jaydon Blue would win the job. Or, failing that, maybe 2025 seventh-rounder Phil Mafah would earn that spot. They were not expecting to have to trade to fill the role.
But three weeks into training camp, neither has done so and for a team that is concerned about overloading Williams this season, that’s a big-time worry.
Cowboys Not Trusting Jaydon Blue, Phil Mafah
In fact, it is a big enough worry that Cowboys beat writer Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says not only is Dallas weighing the possibility of trading for a running back, they have been weighing that possibility all through camp.
Said Harris on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Monday: “I continue to feel like if Jaydon Blue and/or Phil Mafah do not show, do not earn trust for the rest of camp, I feel like there is an outside acquisition on the table. I think it would be moreso looking at the trade market and monitoring what’s going on there—I mean, they have been monitoring the trade market so, as far as having an RB2 that they feel comfortable with, I don’t think you’re going to find that on the waiver wire.”
Depth Chart to Undergo Changes
Indeed, coach Brian Schottenheimer told reporters that there would be some shake-ups in the Cowboys depth chart this week as the team heads into its second preseason game week, facing Arizona on Saturday.
We saw that at the running back spot from Oxnard to open the week. Tommy Yarrish of the Cowboys team website reported that, “Malik Davis was the first RB to play with the 1st team offense after Javonte Williams. Hunter Luepke got some 1st team carries too.”
Now, that does not necessarily mean that Davis is the RB2 as of now–there were injuries all over the running back room, as Mafah and Israel Abanikanda were dealing with injuries to their ribs and Blue was nursing a shoulder injury.
Cowboys Concerned About Jaydon Blue Ball Security
But there’s no doubt concern around the Cowboys that the RB2 for this season. is not yet on the roster. Coach Brian Schottenheimer has openly said he wants Blue to win the job, but Blue does not seem to be doing so. A fumble in the joint practices against the Rams last week seems to have highlighted Dallas’ worries about his ball security.
Said Schottenheimer of the Blue fumble: “Ball can’t go on the ground. But one fumble doesn’t make for camp, he is having a really good camp—both he and Phil Mafah. I thought he had some really good, some of his more physical runs in the A and the B gap. There’s a cool crack replace play where he was up on the corner and put his shoulder down, I thought that was really cool. He knows he has got to protect the ball.”
Cowboys ‘Monitoring’ Trade Market at Surprising Position