The Dallas Cowboys always have some of the most fascinating storylines in the NFL, but heading into 2024, it’s almost impossible to predict what Jerry Jones and company have planned.
If you listen to Jones, he’s sticking by his statement that Dallas is going “all in” for 2024 with the goal to finally get over the playoff hump and secure another Lombardi Trophy.
That logic made sense following the Cowboys’ early exit from the playoffs. They had a team loaded with talent on both sides of the ball and their franchise QB Dak Prescott, was leading the MVP conversation for most of the year and finished 2023 with one of his best statistical seasons as a pro. The Dallas Cowboys were undefeated at home and entered the playoffs as a No. 2 seed.
But as anyone with a pulse has come to expect, Dallas choked in the first round of the playoffs, falling to a young Green Bay Packers team who barely snuck into the postseason.
There were questions whether Jerry Jones would make significant moves after the loss, but he didn’t. He retained head coach Mike McCarthy for 2024 and made it clear Prescott was the team’s QB moving forward.
Almost every NFL Insider predicted the Dallas Cowboys would give Prescott a contract extension to free up cap space and add new talent in free agency — but instead — Jones hasn’t done a thing and is letting Dak Prescott play out the final year of his contract.
The team has lost several coaches including defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who took several assistants with him to the Cowboys’ rival, Washington, when he accepted the head coaching job there.
Beyond coaches, the Cowboys have parted ways with a bevy of key players on both sides of the ball. No more Tony Pollard or Michael Gallup to help Prescott on offense. Longtime All-Pro tackle Tyron Smith departed for the Jets. Defensively, Dorrance Armstrong followed Quinn to Washington and Leighton Vander-Esch retired.
The Cowboys have made exactly one move in free agency by adding a veteran linebacker who is a mid-level starter at best. And yet Jones is still sticking by his statement that his team is “all in” for 2024.
While the running back position has lost value in the modern NFL, it’s critical to Prescott’s success through play action and also having a reliable receiving threat out of the backfield.
NFL Analyst Believes Dallas Cowboys Adding Record-Breaking RB In NFL Draft Would Be “Sensible Move”
The Cowboys could be in the market for a record-breaking running back.
As the Cowboys enter the 2024 NFL draft, they’ll likely do so without a clear-cut starter at running back. After allowing Tony Pollard to walk in free agency and sign with the Tennessee Titans, Dallas’ current running back room features Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis and Deuce Vaughn. Those three backs combined for just 112 carries for 401 rushing yards and two touchdowns during the 2023 season, with Davis not recording a single statistic.
However, as Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox writes in his three “hidden-gem prospects” that the Dallas Cowboys should target, University of Michigan running back Blake Corum is one of the players he mentions.
Knox argues that Corum — who is expected to be a Day 3 pick in the draft — could give the Cowboys “high-athletic upside” at the position.
“Corum might not have the high-end athletic upside of a future star, but he’s a sound technical runner who knows how to read defenses and utilize blocks to his advantage,” writes Knox. “After topping 240 carries in each of the last two seasons, Corum has also shown that he can handle a heavy workload.”
The 23-year-old was actually a record-breaking running back at the University of Michigan. Outside of leading the Wolverines to a national champion during his final season, he broke the single-season record for touchdowns (27) and the school’s all-time record in that category (58).
Corum was actually named to the All-American Team in back-to-back seasons, having also been selected to the team after a 2022 season in which he ran for 1,463 yards and could be an instant impact for the Dallas Cowboys in 2024.
