“Will either be better than Rico Dowdle?” - Skip Bayless shows concern over Cowboys’ free agency additions at running back

Skip Bayless, one of the biggest NFL TV personalities who has covered the Dallas Cowboys for years, isn’t thrilled with the team’s running back room at the moment.

Rico Dowdle's departure to the Carolina Panthers left a void in "America's Team" at that position, and the club will address that need by adding Miles Sanders and Javonte Williams.

Neither are reassuring options for Bayless.

"How can I get excited by either Miles Sanders or Javonte Williams after they were discarded by Carolina & Denver?" Bayless tweeted on Friday.

Sanders started just seven games in the past two seasons for the Panthers, gaining a combined 637 yards on the ground.

"Will either be better than Rico Dowdle was last yr for the 7-10 Cowboys? I doubt it. So predictably Jerry hasn’t made a single free agent move that made me say WOW," Bayless added.

Dowdle rushed for 1,079 yards in 2024 for the Cowboys, averaging a career-high 4.6 yards per carry. Williams had just 513 rushing yards for the Broncos this past season and has averaged less than 4.0 yards per carry in his last two campaigns.

Sanders has had just one 1,000+ yard season in the NFL, for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022 (1,269), while Williams' best professional campaign came in his 2021 rookie season, when he ran for 903 yards and four touchdowns.

The Cowboys' predictable offense

Running the ball was not the Cowboys' strong suit in 2024, even despite Dowdle's successful year. Dallas was 27th in the league for team rushing, averaging 100.3 yards per game. They were 14th in that category in 2023, with an average of 112.1 yards per game.

If Miles Sanders and Javonte Williams handle the duties out of the backfield next season, new head coach Brian Schottenheimer might have to be pretty inventive in his play-calling because, from the outside, the Cowboys look like a pure passing offense right now.

Other defenses likely know that, too, with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb being the focal points of that offense. That's not likely to change even if Williams and Sanders come to Dallas, but the team doesn't appear to have added any huge weapons running the ball or in the receiving department.

Last season, Lamb led the team with 1,194 receiving yards, with the next highest person being Jalen Tolbert at 610.