Emmitt Smith. Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

Cowboys should disregard this Hall of Famer's NFL Draft advice

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Feb 6, 2025 8:16 PM ET

Emmitt Smith wants the Dallas Cowboys to avoid drafting Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, but his reasoning seems misguided.

During a Thursday interview with Sirius XM's Maggie Gray and Andrew Perloff, Smith — a former Cowboys RB and Pro Football Hall of Famer — suggested Jeanty would fail in Dallas.

"If he comes to the Cowboys right now, he's going to get beat up," Smith said. "I don't think we're ready. We don't have the right mindset. We don't have the right commitments."

“If he comes to the Cowboys… he’s going to get beat up”

Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith says the Cowboys SHOULD NOT draft Boise State RB Asthon Jeanty pic.twitter.com/KFu9dZAOnC
— Maggie and Perloff (@MaggieandPerl) February 6, 2025

Smith added the Cowboys had solid RBs last season but didn't use them correctly.

"OK, you're trying to tell me Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle could not carry that team? No. There was no commitment to run the football," Smith said. "And when there was a commitment, when [quarterback] Dak Prescott went down, Rico ran the ball well."

Dowdle tied for 12th in the league in rushing yards (1,079 in 16 games) during the 2024 season. Elliott, meanwhile, ran for 226 yards in 15 games before he was waived.

The Cowboys may be unable to keep Dowdle, who will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Spotrac estimates Dallas will be $2.38M over the cap.

With that in mind, why wouldn't the Cowboys consider taking Jeanty with pick No. 12?

In 2024, the Heisman finalist rushed for the second-most yards (2,601 in 14 games) in a season in FBS history. (Former Oklahoma State RB Barry Sanders ran for 2,628 yards in 11 games in 1988.) On his updated big board, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. rated the 5-foot-9, 215-pounder as the No. 6 player in the class.

A talented prospect in Jeanty would help the Cowboys rebuild after they went 7-10 and missed the playoffs last season. They shouldn't let Smith convince them otherwise.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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