The Dallas Cowboys' draft season came and went with the addition of three first-round talents and no running backs to replace DeMarco Murray.
That doesn't mean the team's brass is concerned about the position. In fact, executive vice president Stephen Jones believes his new committee could even be an upgrade on the 2014 Offensive Player of the Year.
During a Wednesday conference call with season-ticket holders, Jones said, via The Dallas Morning News, that the Cowboys "may end up being more efficient and more explosive by doing our running back by committee rather than putting so much pressure on one back."
Jones specifically referenced Darren McFadden and former Cardinals tailback Ryan Williams as reasons for optimism.
"We really think Darren's in the best shape of his career," Jones said. "He looks great out there. We really think that you put him behind our offensive line and he has some luck and stays healthy, we might really have something here."
Jones' comments echo those of owner Jerry Jones, who opined in late March that McFadden still has "the kinds of skills" that made him the No. 4 overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.
A former second-round draft pick, Williams has managed just 164 yards on 58 carries (2.8 yards per carry) since tearing his patellar tendon in 2011.
Despite that meager production, Jones insists Williams will "certainly be a factor" in the backfield picture.
"His name actually came up quite a bit (during the draft)," Jones said. "Many times we were looking at backs later in the draft that we compared to Ryan and didn't feel like they were as good as he was."
The Cowboys' confidence stems from their belief, emphasized in Thursday's press conference introducing rookie La'el Collins, that they now boast a historically great offensive line.
NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah believes this is the ideal scenario for McFadden to jumpstart his stalled career:
We expressed similar sentiments on Thursday's edition of the Around The NFL Podcast, which featured a breakdown of each NFC team's outlook following last week's draft.
