'We're not ready' - Brian Schottenheimer is not hiding the reality Cowboys are facing at a position filled with question marks

Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer is taking the honest route when discussing what's considered by fans and media members one of the weakest spots on the roster:

The running back position.

"We’re not ready," Schottenheimer told reporters Thursday. "We’re a long way from knowing that this is going to look like.”

However, Schottenheimer is confident in the group of veterans and rookies the Cowboys have put together. And he's clearly not sweating the labels the outside world wants to place on the likes of Jaydon Blue, Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders, etc.

"If we have a guy that clearly wins the starting job, then he'll be the starting guy," Schottenheimer added. "Is he the bell cow? Like, there's all these cool words that go with 'Oh, he's the bell cow, he's the man, he's the stud,' whatever, let's let these guys compete." 

Though Schottenheimer admitted he and Mike McCarthy probably played "too much" into the "running back by committee" tag, he does expect this year's running game to be a group effort.

"It does take more than one, it usually takes more than two," Schottenheimer said. "You talk about Hunter Luepke, is he one of the two? Well (expletive), he plays a bunch of football for us. I really, really like the guys that we drafted. (. . .) In a 22-game season, whatever it ends up looking like, you're going to need all those bodies." 

So far, training camp practices have suggested it's the veterans' jobs to lose. Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders have received the majority of the first-team reps but Schottenheimer said earlier in camp the competition wouldn't really start until the pads come on, which will happen Sunday. 

Though the Cowboys running back group is filled with question marks, the offense does have a promising interior offensive line group that could set the tone in the trenches. That alongside a revamped rushing scheme could help the offense look much improved in 2025.