Will Cowboys' Starting Running Back Role Be Settled At Minicamp?

What a difference a year makes.

The Dallas Cowboys' run game a year ago was the punchline to several jokes, with Ezekiel Elliott handed the starting role with Rico Dowdle as his backup.

Fast forward to now, and we have a running back room headlined by Miles Sanders and Javonte Williams, with Deuce Vaughn and rookie Jaydon Blue and rookie Phil Mafah buzzing around too.

As minicamp begins at The Star, it has been Sanders who has shown the most "pop" at OTAs, with his flashy runs a feature, and if a game were to be played today, he would be Brian Schottenheimer's starter. ... or, let's call it "co-starter,'' as to CowboysCountry.com's eyes during OTAs, Miles split first-team work with Javonte Williams.

No, this isn't a one-horse race. But Cowboys fans all wondering if Miles has the surprise chance to make it so across three days of minicamp.

First, let's look at his competition.

Williams, perhaps the best pass protector (a key Schotty trait) among the group, is in the mix for the starting role and will get his chance to prove he is deserving of more reps.

Blue is a little more unknown with his blazing speed and pass-catching ability, seen as his only genuine weapons, but both are traits Schottenheimer values, and both are high-level.

Williams also has premium pass-catching skills.

And then there's Deuce. There isn't anything we can think of that he does better than the top backs, so he is well and truly on the roster bubble as minicamp begins.

Oh, and Mafah? He's a big-bodied punishing runner ... but he's a seventh-round pick.