Mike McCarthy moving away from running back by committee concept, declaring Rico Dowdle the No. 1 RB. “Rico needs to touch the ball,” he said.

Related Players: Ezekiel Elliott, Deuce Vaughn, Dalvin Cook, Hunter Luepke

This is great and all, but the Cooper Rush-led offense looked beyond miserable last week, and it's hard to see how it's going to get much better moving forward. Consider Dowdle a high-floor/low-ceiling RB3 in Week 11.

Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott will be inactive for Sunday’s game against the Falcons due to disciplinary reasons.

Elliott will not even travel with the team to Atlanta. The Cowboys elevated Dalvin Cook from the practice squad to help fill out the depth chart. With Elliott out, Rico Dowdle is in line for an increase in work, though it is a tough matchup against one of the better run defenses in the league this season in Atlanta. Dowdle is an RB3/Flex while Cook is a deeper-league option and maybe a bit of a desperation play.

"He definitely needs to touch the ball more, without a doubt." - Mike McCarthy on Rico Dowdle.

Related players: Ezekiel Elliott

Elliott was the only other RB to touch the ball, running 8 times for 17 yards in Week 6. Dowdle ran just 5 times but gained 25 yards. Dowdle was more involved in the passing game since the Cowboys fell behind early, and he caught 5 balls for 30 yards. Dowdle did touch the ball 22 times in Week 5 against the Steelers to Elliott's 6 rushes, so the Cowboys do seem to be trending away from the committee in favor of Dowdle, which was reported a couple weeks ago. The game script probably played a factor in Week 6. The Cowboys have a bye in Week 7 and come back to a game at San Francisco in Week 8 on Sunday night, so it's possible we see a more obvious use of Dowdle with any adjustments coming off the bye week.

The running back situation has been as confounding as it has been disappointing. The Cowboys are starting to drift away from a pure committee approach, in the sense that Rico Dowdle’s snap counts and rush attempts are noticeably greater than Ezekiel Elliott or Deuce Vaughn’s.

Related players: Dalvin Cook

The story said Elliott's value is more leadership and pass protection, and it has not been in the form of purely running the football. The story added injuries on the defense may affect when Cook is able to join the roster, but the story added Cook's time could be coming soon. For now, it looks like Dowdle is at least trending in the right direction despite the team's struggles running the ball.

Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle have carried the load at running back, but the Cowboys signed Dalvin Cook to their practice squad in August so they could turn in his direction in an effort to find a spark. Team owner Jerry Jones threw cold water on that idea during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan, however.

Jones said he is “pleased” with how the backs have performed and that he doesn’t expect the team will call Cook’s number.

The Cowboys are averaging less than four yards per carry through the first two weeks of the season, the story pointed out. But Jones was quoted in the story saying, "I don't see a change that could involved Dalvin Cook this week."

Rico Dowdle was Dallas’ most explosive back and showcased an ability in the passing game to be a complete back.

Related players: Ezekiel Elliott, Dalvin Cook

The positive news about Dowdle continues to pour in leading up to Week 1. The story said, the expectation for Dowdle at first was to be in the mix with Elliott for some carries. The author said Dowdle made the most of his opportunities in camp and looks to at least have the ability to be a full-time RB. Elliott should still be in the mix though, but Dowdle could end up giving owners more value than they thought. We'll likely need a week or two to fully see how the Cowboys plan to split up the workload.

Rico Dowdle should be the favorite to lead the Cowboys in rushing attempts and rushing yards this season.

Related players: Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliott, Deuce Vaughn

The expectation going into camp was that Dowdle would be in position to have a larger role with Tony Pollard leaving in free agency. But the story said the fifth-year back looked to make the most of his opportunities. It went on to say he was Dallas’ most explosive back and showcased an ability in the passing game to be a complete back. Elliott will likely still be a factor but it's good news for those who took a chance on Dowdle or had secured him from last season.

Four-time Pro Bowl RB Dalvin Cook is signing with the Cowboys.

Cook was waiting for the right opportunity and always felt it was Dallas. A marquee addition in Big D.

Related Players: Rico Dowdle, Ezekiel Elliott, Deuce Vaughn

Vaughn was a surprising "keep" on roster cut days, but this all but eradicates him from the touch share.

Cook figures to rotate in enough to make none of the top three options serviceable in fantasy, including Cook himself. In his 2023 stint with the Jets, he averaged 3.2 yards per carry and 2.21 yards after contact, a harbinger of what he brings to the table in Dallas.

The Cowboys cut RBs Royce Freeman and Malik Davis.

Related players: Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn

For about a week this summer, Freeman seemed to be the darling of the Cowboys backfield, but that quickly changed and those who follow the team pointed to Dowdle as the back who stood out the most at times in camp. Both Freeman and Davis could resign on the practice squad, however. While we don't know how the workload will be split, it looks like the Cowboys are going with Elliott and Dowdle. We do rank Elliott 34th and Dowdle 51st on our RB list.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that running back Dalvin Cook is heading to Dallas on Monday night to meet with the team.

Related players: Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle, Royce Freeman, Deuce Vaughn.

As the story said, Cook was coming off shoulder surgery last year, so the Cowboys may be hoping he can rediscover his form and bolster their running back group. The Cowboys were expected to make moves at RBs long before now, but instead opted to bring back Elliott and Dowdle. For the most part, those who follow the team lean toward a split between the two as far as workload goes, which isn't all that exciting from a fantasy perspective. This news could cause a lot of owners to pickup Cook off the wire, but it remains to be seen if the Cowboys sign him, and if they do, what's left in his tank. Keep in mind, Cook hasn't drawn a lot of interest up to this point.