Can the Dallas Cowboys rebuild better in the 2025 NFL Draft?
After another disappointing season, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will have a decision to make about head coach Mike McCarthy. The offseason will start there. In approaching the draft, the Cowboys biggest needs are in the trenches, both the defensive line and offensive line. They also have a need at running back.
There will be plenty of opportunity for that in this draft, especially at the running back position, which is deep this year. It is so deep with dynamic players that a team like the Cowboys could be enticed to draft one in the first round.
With the Cowboys going running back by committee in 2024, their best back was Rico Dowdle who did have a 1,000-yard season, but with him hitting free agency, the Cowboys best decision may be letting him walk, spend that money elsewhere and snag a running back in a draft that is rich with quality backs with potential of tearing it up at the NFL level.
2025 NFL Draft running back class is deep
In a deep running back class led by the Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, NFL teams will be looking to select their version of Sequon Barkley or Derrick Henry as backs who can lead an offense. Along with Jeanty, top running backs like North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton, Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson and Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins will be prospect high on draft boards. But there are also prospects like Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo, Penn State’s Nicholas Singleton and Oregon’s James Jordan who could be Day 3 steals. There will be plenty of options for the Cowboys all over the board in this draft.
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In this 2025 NFL Draft series, NFL Mocks looks at the best option at running back for the Cowboys in each of the first three rounds based on current draft position.
Round 1, Pick 13: Ashton Jeanty, RB– Boise State
It would be fitting that the nation’s top running back go from playing for the Boise State Cowboys to the Dallas Cowboys. Although Ashton Jeanty didn’t end his college career as dominant as he played all of 2024, the Heisman Trophy runner up may be the most explosive running back to enter the draft since Barkley. Numbers wise, the only running back with a greater college impact was the great Barry Sanders. Imagine how much more dominant Sanders would've been with the power and force Jeanty exhibits below:
Truck stick 🎮 @AshtonJeanty2
— Boise State Football (@BroncoSportsFB) December 7, 2024
📺 FOX#BuiltDifferent | #HEI2MAN pic.twitter.com/i9tbGIj6bZ
The next question for Jeanty is whether he can translate his game to the NFL level. What better team to do that with than the Cowboys who have been in search of a dominant run producer since the prime days of Ezekiel Elliott. With his vision, ability to break tackles and acceleration once he hits the second level, Jeanty would be a prime first-round selection of Jerry Jones and the Cowboys.
Round 2, Pick 44: Kaleb Johnson, RB – Iowa
If the Cowboys miss out on Jeanty, a prime target on Day 2 with the No. 44 overall pick is Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson. At 6-foot-0, 225 pounds, Johnson is a powerful running back who is hard to bring down once he makes contact. His vision and patience as a runner were highlighted in 2024 as he rushed for 1,537 yards on 240 carries. His 21 touchdowns showcased his knack for finding the endzone. Like Elliot in his prime, Johnson is a workhorse type back who can also catch the ball out of the backfield. A great fit for what the Cowboys has been looking for in a running back the last two seasons.
Round 3, Pick 78: TreVeyon Henderson, RB – Ohio State Buckeyes
The other half of the dynamic Ohio State running back duo, TreVeyon Henderson didn’t have the dominant numbers of Jeanty or Johnson as he shared the rock with Judkins, but as a Day 3 pick, the Cowboys would get a legit RB1 type of player who has the elusiveness and quickness to find holes and the power to gain additional yards after contact. Along with his vision, Henderson does have the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, which should put him high on the Cowboys draft board as a third or fourth round target.