The Dallas Cowboys have a huge decision to make regarding their two biggest free-agents, Dez Bryant & DeMarco Murray. Both had monster seasons and wrote their names into Cowboys history with their respective individual seasons but now comes the question of can the Cowboys retain both players and who's more important to re-sign.
Nobody can deny that both players had a huge impact on what the Cowboys were able to accomplish this season in winning the NFC East and their first playoff win under head coach Jason Garrett. Bryant has established himself as arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL while Murray has made a case for himself as a top 5 running back. Now, the Cowboys are under a tight salary cap that may force them to choose between their Pro Bowl running back and receiver but the question is who should be the number one priority.
Both players are 26 years old and in the prime of their careers looking for a big payday this off-season.
Dez Bryant has had three consecutive seasons of at least 1,200 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns and leads the league in receiving touchdowns over that span with 41. Bryant is a nightmare matchup in one-on-one man coverage and even when he's double teamed is able to find just enough open space.
The attention he demands opens up the field for receivers such as Cole Beasley and Terrence Williams and makes opposing defenses pay when they stack the box to stop the run. Williams and Beasley are solid receivers in their own right but neither has the talent nor garner the respect that Bryant does from opposing defenses. Bryant is a rare talent with his physical attributes and is the emotional leader of the Cowboys. Jerry Jones knows this and has made it very clear Bryant will be wearing a Cowboy's uniform next year whether they put the franchise tag on him or sign him to a long-term contract. Murray is the one that has a darker cloud surrounding his possible return.
DeMarco Murray was the workhorse the Cowboys were hoping for this season as he carried the ball a total of 397 times for 1,845 rushing yards, breaking Emmitt Smith's season record he set back in 1995. Murray was the league's leading rusher and was as equally as important an excellent pass-blocker for Tony Romo's surgically repaired back. Murray has had back-to-back 1,000 rushing seasons and for the first time in his career played all 16 regular season games. While the offensive line was spectacular this season for the Cowboys, Murray deserves just as much credit as he led the league in yards after contact, more than even Marshawn Lynch AKA "Beastmode." Murray's presence in the backfield forces defense to stack the box at times during the game which, as a result, allows the receivers to go one-on-one with their defenders. It's a major reason why the offense worked so efficiently this season and Tony Romo had perhaps the best season of his career.
The biggest question with Murray is perhaps his durability after carrying such a heavy load this past season. Murray's season was the 42nd running back in NFL history to have at least 400 touches in a season. Of the previous 41 players, 20 of them played in fewer games, 25 averaged fewer yards per carry and 35 of them had fewer touches. Now it's not a guarantee that Murray will decline in production net season but it is very likely to happen. That being said it's wrong to think that the Cowboys can stick any running back behind their offensive line and they'll reap the same results. Murray is a complete all around back unlike 80% of the running backs in the league. But as valuable as Murray is to the Cowboys offense, his stock isn't higher than Dez Bryant's.
What also hurts Murray is how the value of running backs around the league has declined recently and the now popular running back by committee approach. One could argue that the Cowboys have put themselves in this position by putting so much pressure on DeMarco and not utilizing Joseph Randle and Lance Dunbar more throughout the season. More and more teams have used this philosophy in recent years.
Take for example the Super Bowl Champions, New England Patriots, when's the last time they had an elite running back during any of their Super Bowl years? And while they never had an elite wide receiver besides Randy Moss, they did have Rob Gronkowski, one of the elite weapons in the passing game, wide receiver or tight end. Dez Bryant is in that class and has more years being at the top of his position than DeMarco Murray. Running back gems have been found past the first round more and more over the years, Murray himself was a third round pick.
Ideally the Cowboys want to keep both Bryant and Murray but if forced into a bind Dez Bryant should be the priority. He is the most valuable offensive skill player on one of the best offenses in the NFL.