Cowboys RB rotation shaping up to be biggest battle in months ahead

The Dallas Cowboys needed to rebuild their running back room this offseason and rebuild the running back room they did. The club added veterans Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders in free agency and then tacked on Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah in the 2025 NFL draft. No matter how it all shakes out this summer, there’s going to be some significant churn on the depth chart this year.

On paper the battle at the RB position promises to be fairly contested. Investments in both free agency and the draft were modest with no single player standing out above the rest. Blue, selected No. 149 overall, brings the most excitement to the battle given his big-play potential, but his opportunities will likely be handcuffed to his ability to hold onto the football.

Williams, a four-year veteran, brings experience but he is somewhat limited physically after a 2022 knee injury robbed him of what little juice he had. Another year removed from the injury, that could change quickly given Williams is just 25 years old, making him a wildcard. Sanders and Mafah are interesting options, but neither are assured of roster spots, let alone a place in a rotation.

Even the carry-overs, Hunter Luepke and Deuce Vaughn, bring an element of unknown to the table. Luepke is a safe bet to make the team given all the different hats he wears on gameday but it’s unknown if he’ll be able to pick up where he left off as a ball carrier. Vaughn doesn’t enjoy same security. The diminutive scatback has had trouble getting on the field even in a thin RB room. If all the other players perform up to their potential in 2025 there may just not be a place for Vaughn.  

With no true hierarchy in place before training camp the battle at RB should dictate the pecking order in the regular season. It’s a pecking order that could change multiple times throughout the season given the wide range of possibilities in this RB room.

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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys RB rotation shaping up to be biggest battle in months ahead