Rico Dowdle becomes the Cowboys’ top NFL loanee

My goodness, how far the pendulum swings. The Cowboys, seemingly stuck in a running back co-op forever this season, have now safely moved into bell cow territory. Ezekiel Elliott’s difficulties combined with Rico Dowdle’s maturity have made the latter a key player, most recently placing the 26-year-old at No. 6 in the latest Bell Cow report.

Dowdle appeared to be Dallas’ front-runner even before the season began. Those familiar with the South Carolina product knew it was injuries and availability that had held him back. What Dowdle lacked in name recognition he made up for in talent and versatility. That’s why the local media barely spent any time discussing the Elliott reunion, while the national media couldn’t get enough of it.

Having posted his best yardage total and highest attempts total of the season, Dowdle likely won’t see a slowdown anytime soon. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound all-rounder is ready to run against some of the worst defenses in the NFL. With the exception of Philadelphia in Week 17, Dowdle has a favorable schedule ahead of him.

The growth of the Cowboys’ offensive line also works in his favor. Although left tackle remains a mess, right tackle Terence Steele has returned to his dominant self as a run blocker, reserve guards TJ Bass and Brock Hoffman are making a case to be starters in 2025, and center Cooper Beebe even starts to shine.

Before Week 13, Dowdle lacked explosive runs in his game. He fixed earning several explosive runs in the second level against the Giants by breaking and evading tackles. This increased his explosive run rate from 6.3 percent to 8.2 percent over the season (according to Sumer Sports), positioning Dowdle ahead of players like Bijan Robinson and Aaron Jones in that category.

As good as that is for Dowdle, the Cowboys’ overall running game still leaves a lot to be desired. Even though Dowdle has been the clear model cow for the last three weeks, Dallas is ranked 29th^Th in the EPA/Rush team and 25th^Th in the team’s success rate of running the ball in this time span. The film gets better, the individual runner gets better, the only thing that remains is more positive results. Based on trends, this too should be on the way.

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