IRVING, Texas– As if it wasn't obvious, the Cowboys' future at running back is a popular topic of conversation this week – a fact that was heavily emphasized by the team's season ticket holders.
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones held a conference call with season ticket holders on Wednesday, four days removed from the 2015 NFL Draft, and handled a bevy of questions about the running back position.
As has been well-documented, Dallas shocked draftniks during the weekend by making eight different selections during the draft without adding a running back.
"We didn't put the priority on taking a back that a lot of people may have thought we might," Jones said.
Instead, the Cowboys are expected to turn to the foursome of backs currently on the roster to find a replacement for NFL Offensive Player of the Year DeMarco Murray. The Cowboys signed veteran Darren McFadden to lead the position, but Jones singled out Joseph Randle, Lance Dunbar and Ryan Williams as capable options, as well.
"At the end of the day this league, more and more, is becoming a league where teams use multiple running backs. Last year I think was inordinate, starting with the fact that DeMarco had an amazing season, an All-Pro season," he said. "It very well could be that this year you'll see a lot more of whatever three combinations of backs that we keep – you certainly could see a lot more of the second and third running back than you did last year."
Jones also threw in a line he's used several times since the draft concluded on Saturday evening – "player acquisition is 365 days a year." The Cowboys have pointed out New England's late-season pickup of LaGarrette Blount during last season's Super Bowl run, and Jones allowed that they could add another back in the coming months.
That very notion has led to no shortage of speculation about possible additions to the roster. The past few days alone have seen rumors that the Cowboys are looking to add high-profile free agent Chris Johnson – a notion that Jones dismissed, albeit not completely.
"We haven't visited with Chris, and we can't talk about him because he's a free agent. But right now we're looking at the guys that we have on our roster," he said. "He is somebody that is on a short list of ours that we think could ultimately come in and do some good things for us if we asked him to. But I wouldn't say it's a priority right now."
The Cowboys have signed undrafted free agent running back Synjyn Days from Georgia Tech to take snaps during rookie minicamp, and they'll have three weeks to evaluate their current ball carriers during Organized Team Activities.
It'll be interesting to see if those performances prompt them to reevaluate the position in the coming months.
