By Blessing 
In 2024, one of the biggest uncertainties surrounding the Dallas Cowboys was their running back situation. Ezekiel Elliott was slated to lead the charge alongside Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn. However, concerns loomed over whether this group could sustain an effective ground game under head coach Mike McCarthy — and those doubts were validated as the season unfolded.
Hindsight is 20/20, and NFL.com recently conducted a re-draft, proposing that Dallas should have selected Bucky Irving, a running back originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. According to NFL.com, “Would drafting Bucky Irving have fixed Dallas’ woeful D or spared Dak Prescott from a season-ending hamstring injury? No. But the rookie RB sure could have made the first 11 weeks of the season more interesting for the Cowboys, who averaged a pathetic 81.7 rushing yards and 3.8 yards per carry (ranking 31st in the league in both categories) while falling to 3-7 in that span.”
Rico Dowdle had a promising breakout season, but he’s now headed for free agency. As NFL.com noted, “Irving is something Dallas needs in the worst way: a star-caliber player early in his rookie contract.” Irving’s impressive rookie campaign included 1,122 rushing yards, eight touchdowns, and 392 receiving yards, making him the type of dual-threat player the Cowboys were sorely lacking.
But here’s the catch — Dallas didn’t even have a fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft due to the Trey Lance trade. That round saw a wave of running backs drafted, including Tennessee’s Jaylen Wright (120th overall by the Dolphins), Irving (125th by the Buccaneers), Clemson’s Will Shipley (127th by the Eagles), and Kentucky’s Ray Davis (128th by the Bills), among others.
Cowboys COO Stephen Jones shed light on the team’s draft experience, saying, “You know I think a lot of times there’s always a question mark of, ‘Would you really, really, really stick to your board?’ It just felt like every time the situation was there for us to make a pick and do the right thing, it wasn’t a running back. We had running backs we’d be thinking, ‘OK, our pick is coming in 10 picks, eight picks, five picks away,’ and then there would be a run.”
Jones added that the team had a group of running backs graded in the fourth- and fifth-round range, but things simply didn’t fall in their favor.
Now, NFL.com’s re-draft suggests Dallas should have used their first-round pick (No. 24 overall) to select Bucky Irving. That suggestion feels like a bit of a stretch. While Irving undoubtedly would have boosted Dallas’ rushing attack, it’s unlikely that drafting him in the first round would have been a realistic move.
Looking ahead, the Cowboys have the No. 12 pick in the upcoming draft, and Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty is on the radar. Cowboys fans can only hope that in a year’s time, they won’t be revisiting another “what if” scenario and instead will be celebrating a well-rounded, productive season.