Mike Fisher and Kyler Fox report: Dallas bolsters its backfield by snagging the former TCU standout off waivers, leveraging a coach’s inside knowledge of his elite efficiency and explosive playmaking ability.
FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys didn't stay thin at running back for long.
Less than 24 hours after waiving Jaydon Blue, Phil Mafah and Israel Abanikanda, Dallas found another option.
And the newcomer, Emari Demercado, comes with one career number that should immediately get the Cowboys' attention ...
In Arizona for three years he was good 6.5 yards per carry.
Dallas claimed Demercado off waivers Monday, adding the former TCU running back to a room that included only Javonte Williams and Malik Davis as traditional running backs on the Cowboys' initial 53-man roster.
And there is some familiarity involved.
Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams spent Demercado's first two NFL seasons as Arizona's offensive line coach, giving Dallas someone with firsthand knowledge of what its newest running back can provide.
And Demercado produced while Adams was there.
He averaged 4.9 yards per carry as an undrafted rookie in 2023 before exploding for 9.3 yards per attempt in 2024. Arizona's rushing attack averaged 141.6 yards per game and 5.02 yards per carry across Adams' two seasons while producing a league-best 15.4% rate of runs gaining at least 10 yards.
Demercado maintained that efficiency after Adams left, averaging another 7.1 yards per carry last season.
Across three seasons with the Cardinals, he rushed 126 times for 819 yards and three touchdowns.
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, according to the Chiefs.
And he's considered good in pass protection as well.
The Adams connection gives the move another wrinkle for Cowboys fans.
Some within the fanbase had floated James Conner as a potential Dallas trade target because of his own history with Adams in Arizona. Conner produced consecutive 1,000-yard seasons during Adams' two years with the Cardinals.
Dallas found another way to tap into Adams' old backfield.
Demercado isn't Conner. The Cowboys are getting another running back Adams already knows without surrendering anything in a trade.
That matters for a team that has already moved multiple 2027 picks in other deals. Dallas just sent its third- and sixth-rounders to Pittsburgh for Broderick Jones and a fourth-round pick, having dealt away other future capital in next year's class.
Spending another mid-to-late-round selection on a complementary running back would carry an opportunity cost.
Demercado (5-11, 215) cost them none of it.
He joins a backfield led by Williams, who is coming off a 1,201-yard season. Demercado has never recorded more than 58 carries in an NFL season, making him an experienced complementary option rather than someone Dallas needs to build its rushing attack around.
For anyone who liked the idea of Adams reuniting with one of his old Cardinals running backs, Dallas just found the cheaper version.
And for a Cowboys team that has already spent plenty of its 2027 draft capital elsewhere, free is a pretty convenient price.
