FRISCO, Texas — Another offseason of rampant change has arrived for the room of running backs in Dallas, in more ways than one. Not only have they made the change to bring in Derrick Foster to coach up the group, but the group itself no longer looks the same atop the depth chart — Ezekiel Elliott being released in December and Rico Dowdle leaving in free agency.
And as Dowdle returns home to his native stomping ground of Carolina, one year after Tony Pollard departed to return home himself, to Tennessee, rebuilding the RB depth chart became that much more paramount of a taks for the Cowboys this spring.
They've swung the pickax twice already with the hopes of striking gold, adding Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders during the first week of free agency.
"I feel like I made the right decision," said Sanders, once a rival as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, but now a veteran looked upon to help stabilize things in Dallas. "This is a fit for me, and I like what coach [Brian Schottenheimer] is doing — as far as identity. I came from stuff like that.
"I'm just ready to ball out and contribute to the team."
Playing in tandem with Sanders, as noted, will be Williams, who readily confesses his excitement in playing alongside someone he's studied over the years.
"The sky's the limit — I've been watching Miles since he was at Penn State, and then with the Eagles and a little with Carolina," Williams said. "I've always respected his game, and I'm ready to get in here and compete with him, and grind."
As far as why Williams chose the Cowboys in free agency, landing a few days ahead of Sanders, his answer was as clear as the intent behind the decision.
"I just really wanted to be a part of the change," he said. "I know it's a lot of changes that have happened here, and I like the way Coach Schotty is talking. … I wanna help build a winning, championship culture, like I do everywhere I go — just put my nose down and do whatever I gotta do for the team."
In order to help build such a culture, the Cowboys must get back to being a dominant force on the ground and it will be then, and only then, that they can begin to turn the page away from the 7-10 finish of last season.
Williams produced more than 1,800 scrimmage yards and nine touchdowns for Sean Payton over the last two seasons, and Sanders is also well-known for his ability to impact games as a dual-threat back.
"Playing for a coach like Payton, it teaches you to be gritty, strong and tough," said Williams. "Those are things I'm bringing to the Cowboys as well. There will be ups and downs, but you gotta keep going. And I make plays — run the ball, catch the ball, however it may come.
"I try to make plays and score touchdowns."
A former Pro Bowler with nearly 5,600 scrimmage yards and 27 touchdowns in his NFL career, Sanders adds to a mix that immediately injects both talent and mentorship into an overall young group of backs that includes Deuce Vaughn, Hunter Luepke and Malik Davis.
Mixing with changes not only at running backs coach, but also the addition of Klayton Adams as offensive coordinator — former offensive line coach of the Arizona Cardinals who'll work hand in hand with newly-added Cowboys' offensive line coach Conor Riley — something Sanders says he's not been a part of before.
And that excites him.
"Well, for one, you don't get too many places where your offensive coordinator is also an offensive line coach," he said of Adams. "It's a first for me, and it's exciting for me. I've heard of Klayton Adams and I know his resume is pretty good. I'm just ready to run the football. … I'm used to running the ball and having that type of mentality in establishing the line of scrimmage in teams that I've been on."
It's something Schottenheimer has harped on since taking the reins as head coach and offensive playcaller, building his offensive coaching staff to be in total alignment in that thought.
The sooner Williams and Sanders can, for lack of a better way to put it, hit the ground running in Dallas, the better off the team will be going forward.
"I know what it takes to win," the Pro Bowler said. "We'll take it one day at a time, one week at a time, one game at a time and worry about the little things."
After all, it's the little things that can either sink a season, or turn a team into a champion.
Few teams know this to be true more than the Cowboys.
