Cowboys' Mike McCarthy is 'loving' RB Rico Dowdle in training camp

While Tony Pollard is well-established as the starting running back of the Dallas Cowboys, the coaching staff still has to figure out the rest of the depth chart. Easier said than done. Especially when you have so many different players on the team, from Deuce Vaughn at 5-foot-6 and 176 pounds to Hunter Luepke at […]

Mauricio Rodriguez — Dallas Cowboys News Writer
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Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy in training camp press conference.

While Tony Pollard is well-established as the starting running back of the Dallas Cowboys, the coaching staff still has to figure out the rest of the depth chart.

Easier said than done. Especially when you have so many different players on the team, from Deuce Vaughn at 5-foot-6 and 176 pounds to Hunter Luepke at a fullback-type 6-foot-1 and 238 pounds. That's why McCarthy believes the bottom of the depth chart will be determined by special teams.

But as far as running back No. 2 is concerned, he appears to have a favorite entering the padded practices of training camp: Rico Dowdle. 

"I tell you, I'm loving Rico (Dowdle)," McCarthy told reporters on Monday via Dallas Morning News' Michael Gehlken. "It's great to have him back. Malik (Davis) has taken that jump you're looking for."

While he didn't say it explicitly, Dowdle seems to have his vote so far. Not to mention, you can now make that two times that the Cowboys head coach shouts out the third-year running back. Earlier in the year, during minicamp, McCarthy had urged the media to "not forget about Rico." 

The battle is difficult to break down because while both are fighting for the backup job, it doesn't necessarily mean the loser of the battle has a guaranteed spot on the roster. After all, whoever winds up as RB3 will need to do more on special teams or fill a different type of role.

Does the coaching staff prefer to carry Deuce Vaughn as he provides something different to the table? Do they maybe opt for the fullback, instead?

It won't be easy to determine but having padded practices start this week will certainly help. In the eyes of the Cowboys' head coach, this is the real beginning of camp.  

Featured image via Dallas Cowboys' YouTube.

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