One positive aspect of the Dallas Cowboys’ 2025 season was the performance of their running back group. Coming into the year, there were real questions about the quality of the position group, and many believed they were one of the worst running back units in all of football.
As the season went on, we learned that could not have been further from the truth, and the performance of Dallas’ running backs as a whole was one of the bright spots in a lost season.
Javonte Williams, whom the Cowboys signed to a one-year deal last spring, was the star of the show, putting together the most complete season of his NFL career. Behind Williams, 27-year-old Malik Davis was a quality backup running back, averaging 4.8 Y/A and providing some much-needed juice to the run game in the second half of the season.
As good as Dallas’ running backs were this season, the position group’s future is once again uncertain as we head into the offseason. Both Williams and Davis (RFA) are free agents this spring, and the Cowboys have unproven Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah as the only two running backs on their roster that are under contract for next season.
Blue or Mafah are both still young and could certainly turn into productive running backs as they continue to grow, but it’s almost a certainty that Dallas will pair them with a veteran running back next season. The most likely scenario appears to be the Cowboys re-signing Williams, which they have already expressed interest in doing at the end-of-season press conference.
But if Williams’ strong year prices him out of a return to Dallas, the Cowboys may have to look elsewhere for their veteran running back. If they do that, a potential option could be Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne. In a recent article the Cowboys were listed as one of the “top fits” for the former first-round pick.