The Dallas Cowboys have all but declared Javonte Williams their starting running back. Williams has not played in either of the first two preseason games, while the likes of Miles Sanders, Phil Mafah, Deuce Vaughn and Malik Davis have all gotten some burn.
Promising rookie Jaydon Blue missed the first two games with a heel injury, but he's on track to play in Friday's finale after he returned to padded practice on Tuesday.
Williams and Blue are locks to make the 53-man roster, and the vast majority of Cowboys fans want Mafah to make it over Sanders, who had a rough preseason debut against the Ravens. However, the workload in Tuesday's practice suggests Sanders is ahead of Mafah in the pecking order, which would be a mistake by the coaching staff.
Cowboys need to keep Phil Mafah over Miles Sanders behind Javonte Williams
Williams led the way with six carries, per Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telgram. Behind him, Sanders and Blue both had four carries, Deuce Vaughn had four touches (three carries, one reception) while Mafah and Malik Davis were given one carry apiece.
This is not a great omen for all the Mafah truthers out there, which is surprising because he's been the Cowboys' best running back in the preseason.
Sanders in particular had a brutal showing last Saturday. Seeing his first action since a knee injury shelved him for two weeks, Sanders rushed seven times for 15 yards. While the run-blocking wasn't great, the 28-year-old's vision was the crux of the issue.
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Mafah, meanwhile, proved in Week 1 of preseason that he should be on the roster. He only rushed for 36 yards on 10 carries, but he would've had 50 yards on 11 carries if not for a penalty. His vision, contact balance and subtle elusiveness were all on display.
The seventh-round rookie out Clemson runs behinds his pads and falls forward. He can be a contributor in year one and deserves more carries than Sanders.
The Cowboys might want to keep two vets on the roster to start the season over two rookies in Blue and Mafah.
Perhaps they are confident Mafah can make it back to the practice squad and contribute sporadically during the year if Sanders struggles, but it would be very typical of Dallas if they kept an out-of-form 28-year-old over a rookie who has looked good in limited opportunities.
Keeping Sanders over Mafah would be a mistake, but then again this is a franchise that pushed one of the best players in the NFL to request a trade.