The Dallas Cowboys claimed the former Horned Frog standout, reuniting him with his collegiate roots while adding an explosive playmaker boasting an elite 6.5 yards per carry.
Emari Demercado's last season at TCU ended with the Horned Frogs playing for a national championship ... and nearly four years later, he's coming back to DFW.
And the former Horned Frog brings one NFL number with him that should get plenty of attention:
6.5 yards per carry for his career.
The Dallas Cowboys claimed Demercado off waivers Monday after the Kansas City Chiefs released him during final roster cuts.
It's a homecoming of sorts for a running back who spent five seasons at TCU before beginning an NFL career that has been much more productive than his workload might suggest.
Demercado finished his TCU career with 1,615 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, including a career-best 681 yards during the Horned Frogs' remarkable 2022 run to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
Playing behind Kendre Miller, Demercado scored six rushing touchdowns while averaging 5.6 yards per carry that season.
Then came Michigan.
Demercado delivered the biggest rushing performance of his college career in the Fiesta Bowl, taking on an even larger role after Miller suffered a knee injury. He ran 17 times for 150 yards and a touchdown, including a career-long 69-yard run, as the Horned Frogs stunned the Wolverines 51-45 to advance to the national championship.
Demercado led TCU in rushing again against Georgia, finishing with 59 yards in his final college game.
He went undrafted in 2023 before signing with the Arizona Cardinals.
The opportunities have remained limited.
The production hasn't.
Across three seasons with Arizona, Demercado rushed 126 times for 819 yards and three touchdowns. That's 6.5 yards per carry for his NFL career.
He averaged 4.9 yards per attempt as a rookie before exploding for 9.3 in 2024 and another 7.1 last season.
The sample size matters.
So does what Demercado did with it.
During his three seasons in Arizona, Demercado produced 20 runs of at least 10 yards. Those explosive runs accounted for 15.9% of his career carries.
Had he received enough attempts to qualify, that rate would have topped De'Von Achane's 15.7% mark over the same span.
Demercado also caught 50 passes for 324 yards and a touchdown in Arizona while logging 104 snaps in pass protection and allowing eight pressures.
Dallas offers some familiarity beyond geography.
Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams spent Demercado's first two NFL seasons as Arizona's offensive line coach. Demercado averaged 4.9 and 9.3 yards per carry in those two seasons while Adams helped oversee one of the NFL's most productive rushing attacks.
The Cowboys were searching for another option after waiving Jaydon Blue, Phil Mafah and Israel Abanikanda during final roster cuts, leaving Javonte Williams and Malik Davis as their only traditional running backs on the initial 53-man roster.
They found one who already knows his way around North Texas.
Demercado left TCU as part of one of the greatest teams in program history.
Now he's back in DFW with another opportunity to make the most of his carries.
