Cowboys missed out on cheap RB upgrade thanks to Ezekiel Elliott nostalgia

It is no surprise the Dallas Cowboys' running game has struggled as much as it as. They rank dead-last in a variety of rushing metrics. While starting two rookies on the offensive line hasn't help the cause, the biggest reason for that is the lack of talent in the backfield.

Let us be absolutely clear, though: that is not a knock on Rico Dowdle. Entering Week 7, Dowdle's rushing success rate ranked 22nd out of 64 qualified running backs. The fifth-year pro is a serviceable starter.

Dowdle isn't the problem. It's the options behind him. Ezekiel Elliott, for instance, arguably shouldn't be on an NFL roster. Elliott's 34.2% success rate entering Week 7 ranked 60th out of 64 qualified rushers.

It remains to be seen if the Cowboys will cut Elliott mid-season, or make him a healthy scratch and elevate Dalvin Cook from the practice squad. It is clear that signing Elliott was a huge gaffe by the front office and that became even more obvious during the bye week.

Cowboys blew it by signing Ezekiel Elliott over Kareem Hunt

Kareem Hunt was not high on Cowboys fans' running back wishlist in the offseason. Seemingly everyone wanted Derrick Henry, but the likes of Aaron Jones, J.K. Dobbins and Zack Moss were all available and affordable. They were all signed fairly early into free agency, however.

The Cowboys waited until after the draft to sign Elliott. The Chiefs waited until Sept. 18 (!) to sign Hunt to their practice squad. It took a serious injury to starting RB Isaiah Pacheco for the 29-year-old Hunt to find a job, but he has quickly morphed into the engine of Kansas City's offense.

While the Chiefs' wide receiver room is decimated, Hunt has been awesome. In three games, the former Pro Bowler has 172 rushing yards on 4.2 yards per carry. He owns an impressive 71.2 PFF rushing grade and has forced 11 missed tackles on 41 carries, per Pro Football Focus.

Hunt was a catalyst in the Chiefs' win over the 49ers on Sunday with 83 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. He now has three TDs in as many games, has accounted for 12 first downs and is averaging an even 95.0 yards from scrimmage per game.

Care to guess what Hunt's cap hit is? $820,833 million.

Elliott, meanwhile, has a 59.2 rushing grade (50th out of 58 qualified RBs) and two forced missed tackles on 38 carries. He's accounted for just six first downs and is averaging 3.4 yards per touch. When you factor Zeke's $6.04 million dead cap hit into the equation, he counts $8.04 million on the cap this season.

The Cowboys rushed to sign Zeke after the draft. Mike McCarthy even revealed he wanted Elliott before the draft so another team wouldn't steal him. The franchise's respect for Elliott as a player blinded them to the fact that a better and cheaper player in Hunt was sitting at home.

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