Should Cowboys Sign Derrick Henry to Replace Pollard?

Should Cowboys Sign Derrick Henry to Replace Pollard?

Should Cowboys Sign Derrick Henry to Replace Pollard?

The rushing game was one aspect of the Dallas Cowboys’ “Texas Coast Offense” that didn’t perform up to par this season. Would

Derrick Henry be 2024’s last-ditch solution to the problems? The expectation was that Mike McCarthy’s offense would revolve around

the Cowboys rushing assault once Ezekiel Elliott was traded and Tony Pollard took over. McCarthy really stated as much.

But it failed to get going and a shift in attacking mindset after Week 5 thanks to the brutal loss to the San Francisco 49ers, saw the

Cowboys opt for a more pass-oriented approach. Dallas finished 15th in rushing yards per game (113.5), which was a worse return than

2022 (131.7). The Cowboys lost on average, just over 20 yards per game with Pollard as the lead back compared to last season.

The Cowboys were limited to fewer than 100 yards of offense in four of their five regular-season defeats, demonstrating how difficult it

was to execute the “complementary football” that McCarthy had emphasized during the season. During his debut season as the

starting back, Pollard experienced a “relatively” poor year. Throughout the season, he averaged 59.1 yards per game on 252 runs, finishing with 1,005 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

On face value, that doesn’t seem “bad,” but the deeper we dive, the truth is telling. Last season, Pollard had more yards (1,007),

rushing touchdowns (nine), yards per game (62.9) and yards per carry (5.2) than he did this season. Now for the real eyebrow raiser – Pollard had 59 more carries than he did in 2022.

He also only had one 100-yard rushing game all season (Week 3 vs. the Cardinals) and never had more than 79 yards in a game

outside of that. Pollard also only had two rushing touchdowns in the first nine games.

So, he had less production with more involvement.

Now, since Elliott was no longer the offensive change-up, he could not have been as “fresh” as he once was. Another reason might be

that Pollard wasn’t able to find the wide openings that the Dallas offensive line was so adept at creating during the season. The “best

five” did not remain consistent because Tyron Smith and Zack Martin both missed time due to injuries this season.

The third-year running back showed glimpses of his talents as his “angry” running style proved difficult to stop and drew plaudits

from McCarthy. Unfortunately, Rico didn’t get the chance to showcase his ability as just six times he had five or more carries in a

game. But when he did, the Dallas running game looked far more potent. Three times Dowdle had nine or more carries, he churned out yard totals of 79, 46 and 46 along with two touchdowns.

By coincidence, Dallas won all three of those games despite having more than 130 rushing yards. Additional contributions came from

CeeDee Lamb (14 carries, 113 yards, 2 TDs), Dak Prescott (55 carries, 242 yards, 2 TDs),

and KaVontae Turpin (11 carries, 110 yards, 1 TD).

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