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Cowboys still looking for 'lead dog' in backfield

Joe Nicholson / USA TODAY Sports

With DeMarco Murray off to the Philadelphia Eagles, the starting running back competition on the Dallas Cowboys couldn't be any more wide open.

Darren McFadden would figure to have the edge over the less experienced Lance Dunbar and Joseph Randle, but Cowboys running back coach Gary Brown told Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News that their is no clear favorite at the moment.

"We’re very confident in what we have," Brown said. "We got some very good football players. With the addition of Darren it’s going to be a nice group. I can’t say who is going to be the lead dog right now, but those guys are going to compete and we’re going to do what’s necessary to win games."

McFadden's skill set is the best of the bunch, but he's never been able to stay healthy. If Randle or Dunbar have a strong camp, they could be the first option in Week 1.

That said, offensive coordinator Scott Linehan eluded to the fact it could simply end up as a three-man rotation.

"I just think that we have a complementary backfield," Linehan said. "They’re going to spread out the carries. Some games are going to be different than others. Maybe one guy is going to have more in one game than the other or maybe sometimes two guys are going to split the carries, sometimes it’s going to be three."

Whatever Dallas decides, there will no doubt be ridicule if things don't work out. Letting Murray leave was a big risk, and it won't be easy to replace that production, no matter who is carrying the ball.

- With h/t to NFL.com

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