Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Cowboys face critical decisions at key position

By Michael Carpenter | Last updated 1/26/23

The Dallas Cowboys ended the season ranked eighth with 2,298 rushing yards and second with 24 rushing touchdowns, but the 2023 offseason is filled with uncertainty at running back.

Ezekiel Elliott is a potential post-June 1 cut, which would free up $10.9M in cap space. Impending free agent Tony Pollard, the team's leading rusher, is recovering from an ankle injury that required surgery.

In 2022, Elliott had the worst season of his seven-year career. He posted career lows in carries (231) and yards (876), and although he scored 12 touchdowns, he lacked that explosiveness the team desperately needed.

Elliott would take a pay cut to stay, per the Dallas Morning News, but even that might not be enough for him to remain.

Pollard, a franchise tag candidate, had a career year with 1,007 rushing yards, 371 receiving yards and 12 TDs.

Tony Pollard’s 2022 highlights reel.

(He needs to add a couple of splash plays to it tonight.)#CowboysNation pic.twitter.com/3xULxOk1z0
— Douglas Barricklow ✭ (@SirDouglas71) January 16, 2023

With Elliott inching closer to the end of his Cowboys career, Dallas must look outside the organization for someone to pair with Pollard or potentially as a new starter.

In the 2023 NFL Draft, the top running back prospect is Texas' Bijan Robinson, whom ESPN's Mel Kiper paired with Dallas in the first round of his recent mock draft.

The most complete running back in the draft totaled 1,580 rushing yards, 314 receiving yards and scored 20 TDs in 2022. Robinson has elite vision and a freakish combination of power and speed.

#Texas RB Bijan Robinson is a special talent. The RB position has become devalued of late, fans become hesitant for their team to go RB RD 1. Bijan is worth it. 220lbs with elite patience/vision paired with the ability to turn on a burst of speed.

pic.twitter.com/XRORrh3ksJ
— Jared Tokarz (@JaredNFLDraft) January 18, 2023

Other RBs for Dallas to consider in the draft include Alabama's Jahmyr Gibbs, UCLA's Zach Charbonnet and Auburn's Tank Bigsby.

In free agency, big names Saquon Barkley (Giants) and Josh Jacobs (Raiders) don't make sense because they'd be too expensive. Damien Harris (Patriots), Alexander Mattison (Vikings) and D'Onta Foreman (Panthers) are affordable and viable as starters or as a complement to Pollard.

Harris, the most experienced of the three, rushed for 2,082 rushing yards and scored 20 touchdowns over the past three seasons in New England. Although his numbers dipped in 2022 with the emergence of Rhamondre Stevenson, he has more explosiveness than Elliott.