Boise State running back Jay Ajayi, a Dallas-area native, is visiting Friday with the Dallas Cowboys -- a team that happens to need a running back -- at their local prospects day after dining with the team Thursday night.
It seems doubtful that Ajayi would be a first-round pick, but he certainly would appeal to the Cowboys in the second round.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport also reports that Ajayi recently visited with the Baltimore Ravens, another team that needs a running back. Ajayi had pro-day meetings with the Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers.
Ajayi (5-foot-11 3/4, 221 pounds) is among the second tier of running backs, a group that includes Indiana's Tevin Coleman, Miami's Duke Johnson, Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah and Alabama's T.J. Yeldon. The only two backs considered worthy of first-round picks are Georgia's Todd Gurley and Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon.
Ajayi lacks top-end speed, but he is a productive runner who rushed for 1,823 yards and 28 TDs in 2014; he also had 50 receptions for 535 yards, becoming the first player in FBS history with at least 1,800 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards.
Dallas lost DeMarco Murray but acquired Darren McFadden this offseason; still, the Cowboys likely are looking for a potential long-term answer at running back because McFadden isn't it.
The Cowboys, who pick 27th in the first round, also need help at cornerback and defensive tackle; if they go with one of those positions in the first round, it wouldn't be a surprise to see them choose a running back in the second round with the 60th overall pick. The question would be whether Ajayi is available at that spot.
Ajayi told the Dallas Morning News in February that Murray was one of the backs he had patterned his game after; the other three were Matt Forte, Arian Foster and Marshawn Lynch.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
