Cowboys Executive V.P. Stephen Jones said Dallas “absolutely” needs a running back because DeMarco Murray frequently gets hurt and last year’s backup, Felix Jones, is a free agent who likely won’t return.
So who would that running back be? As PFT’s Josh Alper noted this morning, there’s been talk that Joseph Randle of Oklahoma State could be the player the Cowboys are targeting. But we’ll throw out another name: Marcus Lattimore, the South Carolina running back who was viewed as a first-round pick before he suffered a devastating knee injury.
We’re not the first to point out that Lattimore could make sense in Dallas. Last month the Dallas Morning News reported that the Cowboys have at least some interest in Lattimore. And a splashy pick like Lattimore is just the kind of pick that Cowboys owner and General Manager Jerry Jones loves to make.
Given Murray’s injury history, it’s possible that the Cowboys would shy away from a player with Lattimore’s injury history. But if the Cowboys believe Lattimore will return to 100 percent, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them choose him as Murray’s backup.