The Cowboys are starting to see some return on their investment. They invested heavily in their offensive line in the offseason, dedicating their first-round pick and a third-round pick to the unit. After some significant growing pains in fitting the new parts into the machine, the unit is showing some signs of life in the running game.
Despite the constant change of personnel along the route While Zack Martin is the group's only individual top performer, the unit as a whole has produced solid results.
In a single point error area like run blocking, team success is paramount. All it takes is one mistake to blow up the entire piece. A study conducted by A running play in which all blockers received positive marks results in a 60.2 percent success rate, while a block with one or more negative marks only offers a 25.7 percent success rate. This also carries over to EPA, with a positively rated block attack resulting in an EPA of +0.27, compared to -0.27 EPA for a run block with one or more negative values.
Shockingly, the Cowboys currently rank near the top of the NFL in perfect run block rates in 2024. Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle both gave solid chances for positive gains, even if the results of the run didn't show it. While running plays are largely a byproduct of blocking, at some point it falls to the running back himself to actually push it over the goal line (so to speak).
Creating holes and making positive gains often falls on the offensive line, but it is the RB himself who is largely responsible for players making mistakes at the second level.
Per while Elliott's is just 1.7 percent. For reference, Saquon Barkley is at 11.7 percent and Derrick Henry is at 11.8 percent. It's a significant difference, but Cowboys fans can take solace in the fact that the difference between Dowdle and Elliott is far greater than the gap between Barkey/Henry and Dowdle.
Based on a direct statistical comparison, it's clear that the Cowboys made the right move by giving Dowdle the top spot and pushing Elliott into a supporting role. Dowdle has shown not only that he is the best on the team in Dallas, but also that he is a true NFL starter. When Dowdle gets the ball, the Cowboys have a top-10 success rate (filtered by players with 70+ carries).
Non-traditional ball carriers in Dallas are also producing at full speed. Hunter Luepke (66.7%), KaVontae Turpin (40.0%) and CeeDee Lamb (38.5) are also posting good success rates behind this Cowboys offensive line.
The Cowboys haven't solved their run-blocking issues, but they're clearly moving in the right direction and are better than some give them credit for. What this offense needs now is a little more power from the ball carriers themselves and a little more support from downfield blockers like receivers and tight ends.