Reviewing the Cowboys’ leading rusher every season since Emmitt Smith

Emmitt Smith was a outstanding operating again. And it wasn’t simply because he had such a big assortment of abilities from his unbelievable imaginative and prescient and elusiveness to his bodily play, but additionally as a result of he was simply so extremely sturdy that he was like Forrest Gump the place he was operating and operating and operating.

Eventually, he stopped operating and he completed his profession as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher and that’s all I’ve to say about that.

Okay, really, it’s not. Today, we’re going to revisit the operating recreation of the Dallas Cowboys in the post-Emmitt period and try every participant who led the staff in dashing in every yr after Smith’s time in Dallas ended after the 2002 season.

2003 Troy Hambrick

Signed as a UDFA in 2000, Hambrick was primarily a particular groups man who solely carried the ball six occasions his rookie season. Eventually, he began seeing extra motion, even having some ponder whether or not he ought to be the starter over Smith throughout Emmitt’s twilight years. Hambrick finally acquired his likelihood in 2003, after Smith left for Arizona, and he carried the ball a powerful 275 occasions. He solely carried the ball at a paltry 3.5 ypc so regardless of the heavy workload he by no means reached the 1,000-yard mark. In a bizarre sequence of occasions, Hambrick was waived in 2004 and finally ended up enjoying one closing season with the Cardinals the place he as soon as once more backed up Smith.

2004-2006 Julius Jones

One of the causes the Cowboys moved on from Hambrick was due to the pleasure round Notre Dame operating again Julius Jones. The rookie took the reins early, out-touching veteran Eddie George who joined the squad that very same yr. Jones put up a powerful 819 yards his first yr regardless of solely enjoying in half the video games. His yardage totals improved in every of the following two seasons reaching 1,084 yards in 2006.

Not-so-fun-fact: Emmitt Smith rushed for 1,000+ yards in 11-straight seasons from 1991 to 2001. Over the subsequent 11 years, solely as soon as did a Cowboys operating again hit that mark and it was Julius Jones in 2006.

2007-2009 Marion Barber III

Jones completed off his rookie cope with a Cowboys profession low of simply 588 yards. That’s as a result of third-year again Marion Barber III acquired the lion’s share of the carries. Jones began every recreation in 2007 whereas Barber got here off the bench; nonetheless, it was Barber who inflicted the most injury, even incomes a visit to the Pro Bowl regardless of not beginning a single recreation. The entrance workplace cherished “The Barbarian” a lot that they re-signed him to a seven-year, $45 million deal in 2008. Eventually, his manufacturing began to say no and he was launched in 2011 the place he performed one closing season with the Chicago Bears.

Cowboys followers have been saddened to listen to the news of Marion Barber’s passing. Rabblerousr and I focus on the newest news out of OTA’s in addition to paying our respect to Barber in out newest version of The Star Seminar.

2010 Felix Jones

Barber’s closing season with the Cowboys was spent on the decrease finish of a timeshare with third-year again Felix Jones. A primary-round choose in 2008, Jones had displayed gradual will increase in manufacturing as the staff trusted him with extra carries. In 2010, he was given his likelihood with a profession excessive 185 carries that he become 800 dashing yards. That was the peak of his profession as his numbers slowly dwindled the following two years earlier than finally leaving Dallas to play one closing season in Pittsburgh.

2011-2014 DeMarco Murray

Barber’s launch was a cap-saving transfer as the Cowboys discovered themselves with a surplus of operating backs with Felix Jones and Tashard Choice in the combine, however then one other again was added in 2011 when Oklahoma rookie DeMarco Murray joined the social gathering. A 3rd-round choose by Dallas, Murray solely performed by way of his rookie deal earlier than signing with the rival Philadelphia Eagles for extra money, however he nonetheless left his mark. In 2011 as a rookie, he set the staff’s single-game dashing document with 253 dashing yards. He additionally set the Cowboys single-season dashing yard mark a couple of years later with 1,845 yards in 2014 the place he would go on to win Offensive Player of the Year.

2015 Darren McFadden

Murray’s departure left an enormous gap at operating again, however the entrance workplace was assured they might fill the void with third-year again Joseph Randle mixed with free agent signing Darren McFadden. Randle was the man early, however finally it was the veteran McFadden who took command. McFadden rushed for 1,089 yards in 2015, which was solely the second time in his profession that he reached that mark. The Cowboys low cost method was efficient, however their offense may by no means acquire any traction on account of dropping quarterback Tony Romo for many of the season.

2016-present Ezekiel Elliott

After going a number of totally different routes in seasons previous, the Cowboys determined to not fiddle after they made Ezekiel Elliott the fourth-overall choice in the 2016 NFL Draft. The Ohio State star hit the floor operating, churning out 1,631 yards and 15 dashing touchdowns in a season the place he averaged over 108 yards per recreation. The Cowboys have leaned closely on Zeke over the years as he already has 1,650 carries to this point in his profession. The put on could possibly be catching as much as him as his yards per recreation has dropped every yr since his rookie season.

Here is a year-by-year breakdown of the Cowboys dashing chief since Smith’s departure in 2003.