Dallas Cowboys 2019 Draft Profile: RB Bryce Love

Running Back is a position the Dallas Cowboys certainly will address in the 2019 draft. Bryce Love out of Stanford could be an excellent value option.

For the Dallas Cowboys, the entire 2019 offseason has been about covering themselves. They lost wideout Cole Beasly to Buffalo, and replaced him by signing free agent Randall Cobb. Defensive End Randy Gregory was suspended indefinitely by the league, and they made a trade for end Robert Quinn. They had a need at the strong safety position, and they signed George Iloka.

Every glaring issue the team had coming out of the 2018 season has been addressed, and Dallas has given themselves the ability to go wherever they want in the 2019 NFL Draft at the end of this month.

Despite doing an outstanding job of addressing their needs without overpaying, one position has been left alone, the backup running back. Dallas has shown almost no interest in signing a free agent runner, and it seems almost certain they will address this position through the draft.

It seems likely that the Cowboys will not use pick 58 or 90 on just a backup running back, but if they use a later round pick on the position, Bryce Love out of Stanford could be a perfect option.

Love could have been a first-round pick in the 2018 draft after a season where he ran the ball 283 times for 2118 yards and 19 touchdowns. Love won the Doak Walker Award given to the best running back in the country, and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Baker Mayfield.

Ultimately Love made a decision to stay in school, and to this point, it has looked like the wrong call. The running back battled injuries and inconsistent play in his senior season, recording just 739 yards on 166 rushes and six touchdowns. The numbers seem like Love was not the same guy he was in 2018, but the poor performance of the Standford offense as a whole and him not being completely healthy played a huge role in his down year.

As if things could not get worse for Love, he tore his ACL in the final game of his college career, only making his future more uncertain. Now due to his injury, Love was unable to fully participate in the 2019 NFL combine and the Stanford Pro Day, but he is on track to be healthy and able to participate in NFL training camp wherever he gets drafted.

For the Cowboys, Love could be the perfect low-risk, high-reward option in the later rounds. Love showed in 2018 how dynamic of a player he can be when healthy. He is not a run you over type of running back but would provide a nice change of pace from the running style of Ezekiel Elliott.

With an All-Pro starter, the Dallas Cowboys do not need to spend a high pick on the backup running back position. Bryce Love would be a perfect option with their compensatory pick in the fourth round if available.