Cowboys top-10 free agent additions under Will McClay’s guidance

4. Darren McFadden, RB, 2015

One of the main reasons it was frustrating to watch the Cowboys overpay Ezekiel Elliott in 2019 was the fact that they proved to the NFL world that paying running backs is a bad move in 2015. One year after DeMarco Murray led the league with 1,845 yards, Dallas let him walk.

Murray ended up in Philadelphia on a monster contract, which proved to be one of the worst free-agency moves ever. Murray looked nothing like the player we saw in 2014, recording just 702 yards while gaining 3.6 per attempt. He was gone the very next season as the Eagles quickly admitted their mistake.

In Dallas, they decided to go with Joseph Randle, who had an underwear-stealing issue and was eventually released, and Darren McFadden. The former Arkansas standout got his shot following Randle’s release and he was fantastic.

McFadden went for 1,089 yards on the ground and 328 as a receiver. It was just the second time in his career he topped the 1,000-yard mark and the first time since 2010 with the Raiders. His 40 receptions were also the third most in his career as the 28-year-old did a lot of damage in just 10 starts.

The Cowboys weren’t pleased though and decided to draft Elliott the following year, reducing McFadden to a reserve role for the next two campaigns. Still, his 2015 campaign was a lot of fun to watch — and it’s too bad the front office didn’t watch more of that when deciding on whether or not to give Elliott a reason to leave Cabo in 2019.