Projecting the Cowboys running back depth chart in 2025

Those two signings have put Dallas closer to having a solidified room in 2025, but they still have significant work to do.

With the NFL Draft on the way, and the dust of free agency largely settled, let’s project what the Cowboys running back depth chart will look like at the start of next season.

The Starter: Omarion Hampton, North Carolina

This part of the projection is purely speculative, but the smoke around Omarion Hampton to Dallas sure is billowing.

The North Carolina alum is consistently being mocked to the Cowboys by some of the most credible names in football media. Both ESPN’s Mel Kiper and NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah now have Hampton to Dallas in their mock drafts.

Yes, you can’t take mocks to heart too much, but those two guys are in the know.

Hampton’s draft stock has been rising for months now, as the gap between him and Boise State star Ashton Jeanty shrinks.

While the Heisman runner-up is still the consensus top running back in the draft, Hampton is now a sure-fire first-round pick in his own right. Dallas would be silly not to consider him at 12.

Whether they shock the world with a non-Jeanty running back with their first pick or wait for a later round, one thing is a near certainty: a rookie will be the starter for the Cowboys in the 2025 season.

The Backup: Javonte Williams

When the Cowboys signed Williams earlier this month, the headlines focused more on the fact that they signed a free agent at all – not on Williams being a top-tier addition. In short, he isn’t the player he used to be.

Williams will turn 25 in April, but his best work in the NFL was done at age 21.

In his rookie season in Denver, he ran for 903 yards and four touchdowns. One sophomore-season ACL tear later, and his stats have declined ever since.

At this point, Williams comes to Dallas as a young, low-risk option to backup the eventual starter. For the very low cost of his deal, that’s a fine addition to make, but we can’t pretend he is the top dog.

He’s expected to play a complementary role, likely handling the veteran duties at running back, like pass protection.

I don’t think he has much competition for the RB2 job, but his chance of rising beyond that is slim.

The Third String: Deuce Vaughn

Would the Cowboys running back room really be complete without Deuce Vaughn?

In all seriousness, Dallas’s sixth-round pick in 2023 is going to be battling for his Cowboys career this summer, but I think he has another season in him.

Vaughn, 23, will be squared off with Sanders, an established veteran, Malik Davis, and potentially a late-round addition after the Cowboys get their starter early in the draft. That’s some serious competition for RB3.

What Vaughn has in his favor, over those other options, is a new coaching hire and father time.

Miles Sanders will turn 28 this spring, and his stats have been declining for two seasons now. Davis, while on the younger side at 26, doesn’t have a direct connection to the brand-new offensive line coach.

Conor Riley, whom Dallas hired to run the show up-front, held that same job at Kansas State from 2019 to 2024. That means he coached Vaughn throughout his entire college career.

That connection, combined with the decline of Sanders and the unknown of Davis, should give Vaughn the upper hand to round out the Cowboys running back room.