Dallas Cowboys: Will Darren McFadden have a big role this season?
By Tim Kohut
Based on Ezekiel Elliott’s workload, it’s fair to wonder if Darren McFadden will carve out a larger role for the Dallas Cowboys in 2017.
With the Dallas Cowboys set to go into year two of the Dak-Zeke era, expectations are mounting on the young Dallas team to go on an elongated postseason run. With a tougher schedule, and teams around the league possessing a 17-game scouting report on the Cowboys’ young studs, it may be tough to meet said expectations.
Ezekiel Elliott, going into his second season, may face more stacked boxes than ever before. The workhorse back will undoubtedly be ready to meet such challenges, but it may be in the Cowboys best interest to give their prized possession a few more breathers this season.
Especially if they plan on making a deep postseason run. Enter Darren McFadden, the forgotten Cowboys running back who’s done his job, and done it well when being called upon. It would be in the Cowboys, (and Elliott’s) best interest to give the veteran runner a few more touches down the stretch.
McFadden, who broke his elbow last year in a freak accident and missed almost the entire season, figures to be a bigger factor in the Cowboys’ offense if healthy. Last year the Cowboys started the year with Alfred Morris and Lance Dunbar spelling Elliott, but Dunbar has since moved onto the Rams, and the workhorse Morris was largely ineffective in a backup role.
McFadden has seemed to embrace his role as the Cowboys’ second runner, and seems ready and willing to do anything to help his team win.
"“Obviously I’m going to be a backup guy,” McFadden told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Whatever they need me to do, I’m going to do it. If it’s special teams or whatever, I’m up for it. At the end of the day, it’s a team sport. I’m a team guy. That’s what I love about the game.”"
Despite the fact that McFadden rushed for 1,089 yards in 2015, he clearly doesn’t mind taking a backseat to the transcending talent of Elliott. In fact, he even said re-signing with Dallas was his first and only option.
"“This is where I wanted to be, so I didn’t even get into negotiations with other teams,” McFadden told the Star-Telegram. “I’d rather be comfortable and at home at this point in my career than chasing some money. A few hundred thousand extra dollars to me don’t make a difference.”"
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Despite his role as a backup this season, McFadden should see his fair share of touches, if healthy. He’s a proven commodity, and on a young Cowboys’ team like this that’s a win in itself. As the primary backup to Elliott, McFadden WILL be an important piece to the Dallas Cowboys. And embracing such a role makes it that much more promising.