San Francisco 49ers Veteran Terminate His Contract to land with Cowboys Amid Team Desire
Apparently, the Dallas Cowboys are poised to take Texas Longhorns running back Jonathon Brooks in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday.
On Monday, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter indicated several teams believe the Cowboys will select Brooks, writing, “Some think it would be a surprise if he made it past Dallas’ turn at No. 56.”
Former Pro Bowl RB Tony Pollard signed a three-year, $21.75M deal with the Tennessee Titans in free agency, leaving a hole in the Cowboys backfield.
Last season, Dallas RBs Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn combined for 401 rushing yards. The Cowboys recently signed RB Royce Freeman to a one-year, $1.29M deal, but he has never surpassed 600 rushing yards in six seasons.
Taking Brooks seems like a smart idea, even though he tore his ACL in November. Schefter noted he’s expected to be ready for training camp and could be a steal for the team that drafts him.
In 11 games in 2023, Brooks rushed for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns on 187 carries. He also caught 25 passes for 286 yards and one TD. Pro Football Focus Draft analyst Trevor Sikkema rates the 20-year-old as the best RB in this draft class.
“Brooks is an ideal blend of size [6-foot, 207 pounds], speed, strength and agility,” wrote Sikkema. “Though limited in snap totals, he has good vision in both gap and zone run schemes. If he can get back to form following his torn ACL, he has all the goods to be a starting running back in the NFL.”
The Cowboys ground attack needs a spark after finishing 15th in the league in rushing yards (113.5) last season. Perhaps Brooks will become the playmaker Dallas covets.
Being slotted in the latter part of the first round, and with so many holes in the roster that need to be filled with not a lot of draft capital to do so, the Cowboys end up trading down to acquire more draft picks. There are teams selecting behind them (Bills, Ravens, Chiefs) who could be looking to move up due to their similar draft needs, which could make Dallas’ No. 24 pick a rather hot commodity.
One reason for the prediction is the lack of a sure-fire, must-have prospect that is projected to be available for the Cowboys at No. 24, other than the top OC prospects Graham Barton and Jackson Powers-Johnson. There’s not a lot of difference between the other OT prospects and the ones they could target in a trade-down scenario. Adding extra draft capital by trading down is too tempting of an added bonus.
