The Dallas Cowboys are heading into the draft with the running back position as a target and names like Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon and Tevin Coleman could be potential options and this comes as an Adrian Peterson trade is not looking likely and after Greg Hardy had a verbal altercation with a teammate in his first week of workouts.
According to Todd Archer at ESPN Dallas, the Cowboys are likely to target a running back in the draft at the end of the month and they probably will not go after Adrian Peterson in a trade. The Cowboys let DeMarco Murray walk in free agency and the team felt that they could replace him with a combination of free agency and the draft. The Cowboys already signed Darren McFadden and while they would love to get Peterson, Jerry Jones likely does not want to give up high draft compensation.
The team let Murray go because of money and age concerns and while Peterson is a better back, he is older and costs even more than Murray would have. The Cowboys have built one of the best offensive lines in the NFL and that was part of the reason why the team was comfortable letting Murray go. Todd Gurley likely will be drafted high and if he is off the board before the Cowboys pick, there is a deep class behind him for Dallas to pick from.
Melvin Gordon is a player that also go in the first round and he came in for a visit with the Cowboys and could be a potential option. Tevin Coleman has been getting attention after having a big season at Indiana and he set a school record with over 2000 yards and a seven yards per carry average. Duke Johnson and Ameer Abdullah also could be early round picks. The Cowboys likely would have to give up at least a first round pick to get Peterson and that is a lot for a 30 year old back, even if it's AP.
The Cowboys brought in Greg Hardy on a one year deal and it came after they were one of the worst teams at rushing the passer last season. The team had one of the lowest totals in sacks in the league and Hardy comes in after putting up double digit sacks in his last two full seasons. Hardy went to the Pro Bowl and had 15 sacks in 2013 and the year before that he had 11 sacks and two forced fumbles.
According to Pro Football Talk, Hardy and Davon Coleman got into a "verbal incident" after Hardy "challenged" the effort of Coleman during conditioning workouts. Coleman then "called him a woman beater," according to source who spoke to Rand Getlin at Yahoo Sports. Coleman was with the Cowboys last season as an undrafted rookie and while Hardy might have been showing some "leadership" or something by pushing Coleman, he might want to wait to settle in before calling people out.
The Cowboys signed Hardy to a one year deal and this past week he was suspended by the NFL for 10 games stemming from his domestic violence case last year. Hardy is appealing and the suspension could be knocked down a few games, but the NFL came down hard on him despite his case getting dismissed.
