Joseph Randle is currently heading into his third year in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys. Following the departure of DeMarco Murray, he and Darren McFadden must attempt to take over the former league-leading rusher’s workload. Last year Murray racked up 1,845 yards, averaging 4.7 yards per carry, and ran it in 13 times. This was an impressive feat, but his stats are undermined by the fact that he was running behind the league’s best offensive line. Last year Randle was stuck working behind Murray but ran for 343 yards, averaging 6.7 yards per carry and had 3 touchdowns. There is obviously a large difference between the two rusher’s stats, but Murray had 341 more carries than Randle.
Ever since Murray decided to join the Philadelphia Eagles, Randle has been the favorite to start for the Cowboys. “We have a player that has the potential – and we based that on, not on what he did at Oklahoma State or how we drafted him, but by literally being a teammate around here for the last two years – but he has the potential to be the kind of back that would step in there and be your No. 1 back,” Jerry Jones claimed. “If he were not here, then I wouldn’t feel as good as we go into the season and what might happen.” This clearly shows how productive Jones believes Randle can become. Almost every visitor to the Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, California has reported that Randle appears to be the most outstanding running back throughout their practices.
Despite Randle’s favoritism to make the start, he still finds himself in a battle with McFadden. The two backs are expected to split carries this upcoming season to attempt to replicate Murray’s production. Randle’s production might start off slow due to McFadden taking up some of his carries, but it should pick up as the season carries on if history repeats and McFadden is plagued with another injury. Throughout McFadden’s 7 year career, he has played the entire season only one time. He played in every game last year for the first time during his long career with the Oakland Raiders. Training camp has just started, and he has already been sidelined with another injury. He received a hamstring injury, and even though the injury isn’t severe, it is not a good sign for Cowboys fans. He has officially started off camp on the PUP list.
The only problems Randle brings are his off-the-field issues. He has been known to shop lift and was found with a small amount of marijuana in his hotel room. After his arrest he said “It’s the biggest mistake I’ve ever made in my life… This is just something I’ll have to learn from and move forward.” So far he has done just that – staying out of trouble and staying focused on football. His issues aren’t enough of a concern to take away from his production potential.
With Murray gone, the former Oklahoma State back finally has a chance to lead the Cowboys. It’s hard to imagine that he won’t accomplish that, running behind the second Great Wall of Dallas. Expect Randle to be able to take the pressure off of an excellent Tony Romo all year. If all goes well, the former 5th round draft pick should become a common household name.
Jackson Brown is a Lead NFL Writer covering the Dallas Cowboys for RSEN. You can follow him on Twitter @JBrownTEX.
