Cowboys Urged To Use 'Smartest Investment Possible' At Running Back

His performance undoubtedly gave him an argument for why he deserves a new contract. This puts owner Jerry Jones and the Cowboys in a bind as they try to define his worth.

Dowdle hit career highs in rushing across the board in 2024, most memorably surpassing 1,000 yards on the ground for the first time in his career.

The second element of this running back "drama" is the nonstop speculation of Dallas fulfilling the prophecy that is picking Boise State stud - and Frisco native - Ashton Jeanty in the NFL Draft.

All the mock drafts and chatter that had Dallas picking Jeanty at No. 12 were put to bed, however, when The Athletic reported that the Cowboys are likely to pass on him in that spot...

Lastly, recent remarks and actions lead us to believe that coach Brian Schottenheimer and Jones want to construct this new era with two distinct principles in mind.

1. Develop a run-heavy attack

2. Maintain continuity

The move that checks both of these boxes?

Re-signing Rico Dowdle.

The Athletic also reports that Dowdle is now the Cowboys' top priority, if they hold firm on not choosing a running back in the first round.

Bringing back Dowdle will allow him to flourish even more in 2025 with the new run-heavy emphasis Schotty looks to implement.

The familiarity Dowdle brings to the organization will also maintain continuity, keeping up the trend Dallas has shown with other home-grown free agents.

Re-signing Osa Odighizuwa, Brock Hoffman, C.J. Goodwin, Juanyeh Thomas, and others only leads us to assume Dowdle would get the same treatment.

Spotrac estimates Dowdle's next contract to cost $6.2 million a year, a steep increase from his $1.25 million cap hit last offseason.

That price may sound expensive, but the Cowboys now have plenty of cap space to work with after restructuring Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb's contracts.

Say goodbye to the excuse of Dallas not having enough money to work with.

Put simply, re-signing Rico is the smartest investment possible when you factor in the risks of letting him walk.

If Dowdle were to sign elsewhere, the Cowboys would put massive pressure on themselves moving forward.

They would be forced to find a formidable free-agent signee (we've already heard from Jerry that he won't be "filling voids" in the market) and/or draft a running back prospect, ideally in the first three rounds.

Although I expect the Draft to remain a part of the plan, it will likely not be drafting Jeanty at No. 12.

The Cowboys have met with plenty of other running back prospects, and as deep as this class is shaping out, they won't have a problem snagging one of their targets in the first two days of the Draft.

If they make the effort to...

But to mitigate all these question marks ... keep it simple and re-sign Rico Dowdle.

As John Malkovich says in Rounders: "Pay the man his moneyyyyy."