Cowboys waste no time unleashing secret RB weapon in training camp

It’s no secret that the Dallas Cowboys running game lacks juice. Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders are two veteran backs, but neither player will keep defenses on their toes in the ground game. And the Cowboys understand this, which is a big reason why they selected Jaydon Blue in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Dallas is hopeful that Blue can eventually be that guy, but it’s always tough to lean heavily on a Day 3 rookie out of the gate.

The expectation is that Williams will be the lead back for the Cowboys to open the season and that was the case during the team’s first training camp practice on Monday. But don’t assume that Williams and Sanders will be the only players carrying the ball on offense.

One thing that could happen more often this season is giving designed touches for KaVontae Turpin. During the team’s first practice, we saw Turpin take a handoff from Dak Prescott that likely would have resulted in a touchdown. Take a look at the play below via Jon Machota of The Athletic:

Cowboys HC Brian Schotteheimer already deploying KaVontae Turpin at RB in training camp

The Cowboys signed Turpin to a contract extension this offseason after he racked up over 500 yards of total offense in 2024.

Turpin carried the ball 16 times for 92 yards and has a career average of 7.3 yards per carry on 30 attempts. That is a very small sample size, but he has been productive on the ground. He's also greatly improved as a receiver, which has made it a lot easier to get him on to the field and given him touches.

Turpin will never be the lead back for the Cowboys, and it’s unrealistic to think he could even handle 8-10 carries a game. But could he potentially get 3-4 carries a game, just to give Dallas another explosive player touching the ball? That seems realistic, especially if Blue isn’t ready for a bigger role in the offense.

There is no doubt that Turpin is one of the league’s most explosive players, and the Cowboys would be smart to find ways to get him the football. But with CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and Jalen Tolbert on the roster, it might be hard to do that as a traditional receiver.

Instead, look for Brian Schottenheimer to give him plenty of opportunities in the backfield and in the screen game to help add an explosive element to the run game.