The Cowboys have Javonte Williams as the starter in 2026, but is there enough talent behind him?
For the first time in years, the Dallas Cowboys will enter an offseason without alarms sounding over their running back position.
With Javonte Williams coming off a career-best season in 2025, as he rushed for 1,201 yards and 11 TDs, he signed a three-year, $24 million deal early in the offseason to lock down the starting role.
So, there will be no need for the Cowboys to search for a starting running back; Javonte proved he's up to the task last season.
That takes care of a key position, especially for a Brian Schottenheimer offense, but the starting back isn't the issue. It's who is behind him.
As we turn our attention to the offseason workouts, Malik Davis, Jaydon Blue, Phil Mafah, Israel Abanikanda, and Dominic Richardson are the backs on the roster.
Richardson, Abanikanda, and potentially Mafah are all likely to be seen as practice squad players entering 2026.
That leaves Davis and Blue as the two will be fighting for the backup role.
We know that, according to our own Mike Fisher, the Cowboys have a "thunder and lightning" plan with Williams and Blue, but that is predicated on Jaydon improving in his second season.
Blue struggled in his rookie season, with Fish stating that the coaching staff wanted Blue to slow down as he approached the offensive line, as he didn't have the patience to wait for running lanes to open up.
As a result, he ran into trouble.
The other issue was Blue's pad level. Dallas wanted it lower, and it took Blue most of the season to fix those two issues. In Week 18, he showed what he could do, and it was electric.
As for Davis, he took his chance last season and showed flashes of what he could bring to the table, with his line-bursting touchdown run against the Kansas City Chiefs a feature.
So, this won't be an easy battle, but do the Cowboys have enough talent in the room to be able to have Davis or Blue as Javonte's backup?
Dallas thinks so, and I get the sense that training camp will be a key indicator of whether or not either Blue or Davis is ready to step up.
If not, then the Cowboys could be forced into the free agency market.
But if you're asking for my two cents, I feel like Blue has to shine Oxnard, because if he doesn't the backup role is Davis' to lose.