Dallas Cowboys: Dez Bryant a bigger priority than DeMarco Murray
By John Crist
Jerry Jones would be wise to open the vault for his game-changing wide receiver, even if it means saying goodbye to his chains-moving running back
The Dallas Cowboys are coming off an impressive 12-4 campaign that earned them the NFC East title, and if the Charles Johnson rule had never been put in place, they could very well be on their way to the Super Bowl right about now.
Leading rusher DeMarco Murray and leading receiver Dez Bryant are both scheduled to become free agents this offseason, and losing either one of them may prove to be catastrophic for a Dallas offense that was among the most efficient in the league this season. Not only did Murray win the rushing title by an astonishing 484 yards over second-place finisher Le’Veon Bell, but Bryant set a franchise record — led the league, too — with 16 touchdown catches.
Dallas finally committed to the run in 2014, giving Murray the ball a jaw-dropping 392 times — tied for seventh-most in NFL history — behind a bruising offensive line that featured a pair of All-Pro selections in left tackle Tyron Smith and rookie right guard Zack Martin. As a result, Jekyll-and-Hyde quarterback Tony Romo enjoyed his best year by setting career highs in completion percentage (69.9), yards per attempt (8.5) and passer rating (113.2). The Cowboys finished second out of 32 teams in third-down conversions, fourth in points per game and seventh in total offense.
Nevertheless, it’s a lot harder to find a game-changing wide receiver than a chains-moving running back, so owner Jerry Jones must be prepared to keep Bryant even if it means losing Murray.
Coincidentally, among the tailbacks in the top 10 of NFL annals for most carries in a single year, several of them did so during their age-26 season — Murray was indeed 26 in 2014. Most of them are cautionary tales as to why Jones should sever ties with his record-setting ball carrier if he asks for Adrian Peterson-like money.
Larry Johnson was given the ball 416 times by the 2006 Kansas City Chiefs, producing 1,789 yards and 17 touchdowns in the process. But he was clearly never the same runner again, failing to suit up for more than 14 games and not once sniffing the 1,000-yard mark.
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James Wilder ran the rock 407 times for the 1984 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, putting up 1,544 yards and 13 TDs along the way. Even though he totaled an impressive 1,300 yards on the ground the following season on 42 fewer rushes, afterward his yearly yardage totals dropped to 704, 488, 343, 244 and finally just 51 by 1990.
Eddie George got the call 403 times for the 2000 Tennessee Titans, totaling 1,509 yards and 14 scores in workhorse fashion. While the former Heisman Trophy winner did break quadruple digits with 1,165 yards in 2002 and another 1,031 in 2003, he only averaged a measly 3.4 and 3.3 yards per carry, respectively.
If you look at the rest of the halfbacks on that top-10 list, almost every one of them — Jamal Anderson, Gerald Riggs, Barry Foster — is of the flash-in-the-pan variety, not an all-time great.
Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, topped out at 377 carries for the ‘Boys in 1995. The legend whose record he broke, Walter Payton, set a career high with 381 attempts for the Chicago Bears in 1984.
of the 13 backs that crossed the 1,000-yard plateau this year, only Marshawn Lynch of the Seattle Seahawks was taken in Round 1.
Not only were both Smith and Payton among the best to ever dot the I formation, but they were also cartoon characters that seemingly dished out more punishment than they received. Smith led the league in rushing attempts three times and also won four rushing titles, while Payton paced the NFL in carries four straight years from 1976-79 and yet still ran for no less than 1,222 yards six times from 1980-87.
In other words, they were once-in-a-decade exceptions to the rule.
Prior to this season, Murray was considered a bit of a disappointment in Big D, with injuries limiting him to 13, 10 and 14 games the first three years of his career. 2014 was a Herculean effort, as his 1,845 yards broke Smith’s franchise record of 1,773, although history suggests he won’t come anywhere near that figure again.
Another point to consider: Murray was just a third-round pick in the 2011 NFL draft out of Oklahoma. As a matter of fact, of the 13 backs that crossed the 1,000-yard plateau this year, only Marshawn Lynch of the Seattle Seahawks was taken in Round 1. The running back position just isn’t valued in today’s pass-happy game like it once was, so it isn’t overly difficult — or expensive, which matters in a salary-cap league — to find another bell cow for the backfield.
Not so for a big-time receiving threat like Bryant, who was a first-round choice out of Oklahoma State in 2010.
Bryant was sensational this season as Romo’s primary weapon in the passing game, catching 88 balls for 1,320 yards and those aforementioned 16 touchdowns. Unlike Murray, whose MVP-caliber 2014 may ultimately prove to be an outlier, Bryant’s production mirrored what he did the previous two years — 92-1,382-12 in 2012, 93-1,233-13 in 2013.
Bryant, Demaryius Thomas, Julio Jones, Jeremy Maclin, Odell Beckham Jr., DeAndre Hopkins, Calvin Johnson, Mike Evans, A.J. Green and Kelvin Benjamin were 10 of the 21 wideouts that caught over 1,000 yards worth of passes this season, and each of them was a first rounder. Of the remaining 11, Jordy Nelson, Golden Tate, Randall Cobb, DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery, Anquan Boldin and Vincent Jackson all came off the board in Round 2. Only Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, T.Y. Hilton and Steve Smith heard their names called in the third round or later.
It all boils down to Murray being easier to potentially replace than Bryant.
Keeping both of them simply doesn’t make sense financially for the Cowboys, not with Jones having already shelled out monster contracts on the offensive side of the ball for Romo under center, Smith on the blind side and future Hall of Famer Jason Witten at tight end. Remember this is still a middle-of-the-pack Dallas D that finished 19th in yards allowed and 15th in points per game allowed this year.
There is some risk committing to Bryant, who has a checkered past off the field, but there is even more risk committing to Murray, who plays the most disposable position in sports.
Next: Who are the 30 greatest wide receivers in NFL history?