The situation is dire in Dallas: the Cowboys are 3-7 and Dak Prescott is out for the season after hamstring surgery.
Nevertheless, there’s a silver lining to the team’s losing record: a possible top-10 pick within the 2025 draft, where the precise pick could help kickstart a return to relevance.
The Cowboys are currently slotted for the ninth overall selection within the 2025 NFL Draft after losing their last five games. That may very well be high enough to nab Boise State running back and Heisman hopeful Ashton Jeanty, who recently said he desired to be drafted by the Cowboys, per The Athletic’s Jon Machota.
“My family is all in Texas. Family being there, all of the connections, all of the relationships, I feel like that might just be the right city to play in,” said Jeanty.
Past players who’ve expressed a desire to find yourself in Dallas include first-rounders Ezekiel Elliott and Micah Parsons, who were drafted by the Cowboys in 2016 and 2021, respectively.
Jeanty is predicted to be a first-round pick next 12 months, though his exact draft spot will reignite a recurring league-wide debate about running back value. Many teams have stopped using premium resources within the draft and free agency on an oft-injured position that has taken a back seat in modern passing-focused offenses. Nevertheless, several teams have found success after recent investments of their backfield, either via free agency – Derrick Henry in Baltimore, Saquon Barkley in Philadelphia – or the draft – Jahmyr Gibbs in Detriot and Bijan Robinson in Atlanta.
The Cowboys have been on each ends of that spectrum within the last decade. They drafted Elliott with the fourth overall pick in 2016 and gave him an early extension in 2019 that might have kept him in Dallas until 2026. His six-year, $90MM deal included greater than $50MM of fully-guaranteed money, which stays a record for NFL running backs, per OverTheCap.
Nevertheless, the Cowboys released Elliott after the 2022 season and have invested precious little of their backfield since. Current starter Rico Dowdle was an undrafted free agent signing in 2020 and Elliott returned this spring on a one-year, $2MM deal. 2023 fifth-round pick Deuce Vaughn doesn’t profile as a future lead back at 5-foot-6 and 176 kilos, and Dalvin Cook has only earned two elevations from the practice squad.
That leaves the longer term of Dallas’ running game doubtful, with loads of touches to be taken that might belong to Jeanty if he falls to the Cowboys within the draft. He put together 2,892 yards and 26 touchdowns from scrimmage with a median of 6.7 yards per touch in his first two years at Boise State. This season, his FBS-leading 256 carries, 1,893 rushing yards, and 27 total touchdowns have placed him as a frontrunner within the Heisman race, which might only bolster his case to be a top-10 pick next April.
