The Dallas Cowboys' brass spent the offseason lavishingpraise on Darren McFadden after allowing DeMarco Murray to defect to Philadelphia. Beat writers have hyped Joseph Randle as a breakout candidate behind a dominant offensive line.
With a month remaining before training camp opens, though, it's evident that there is no clear favorite to emerge as the featured runner in this backfield.
"We got some very good football players," running backs coach Gary Brown said, via The Dallas Morning News. "With the addition of Darren it's going to be a nice group. I can't say who is going to be the lead dog right now, but those guys are going to compete and we're going to do what's necessary to win games."
Although fantasy footballers are waiting for McFadden or Randle to gain separation from a group that includes change-of-pace back Lance Dunbar and injury-prone former Cardinals tailback Ryan Williams, offensive coordinator Scott Linehan strongly suggested that this will be a committee effort throughout the season.
"I just think that we have a complementary backfield," Linehan said. "They're going to spread out the carries. Some games are going to be different than others.
"Maybe one guy is going to have more in one game than the other or maybe sometimes two guys are going to split the carries, sometimes it's going to be three. Again, it's to be determined. It is a bit rare to have the one guy carry all the load. I tip my hat to DeMarco for being able to do it."
The Cowboys understand they were fortunate to ride Murray for 18 games and 497 touches last year. They firmly believe injuries are inevitable at the game's most punishing position.
For that reason, they were reluctant to invest heavily in one true "lead dog" who could sabotage the ground attack by missing extensive time in 2015.
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