At 5-foot-9 and 219 pounds, Skattebo is almost exactly the same size as recently signed running back Javonte Williams, but Skattebo has more upside with 112 catches for 1,386 yards and eight touchdowns in four college seasons.
Dylan Sampson | Tennessee
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. called Sampson a “home run waiting to happen” after watching the 5-foot-11, 201-pound running back rush for a career-best 1,491 rushing yards and a school-record 22 rushing touchdowns last season.
Sampson broke out after running for 604 yards and seven scores behind current Miami Dolphin Jaylen Wright in 2023.
He was limited at the NFL Scouting Combine with a hamstring injury but ran the 40-yard dash in the 4.46 and 4.49-second range at Tennessee’s pro day, per 247Sports.
Kiper’s colleague Matt Miller believes Kansas City could take Sampson with its second-round pick (No. 63). If so, the Cowboys would need to use their second-round pick (No. 44) to get him.
Kaleb Johnson | Iowa
Pro Football Focus considers Johnson the fifth-best running back in the draft and gives Dallas the second-best chance to draft him. At 6 feet and 225 pounds, Johnson is a strong, compact runner with good vision and better hands than last season’s 22 catches for 188 yards would indicate.
Like Sampson, Johnson broke through in 2024 with a career-high 240 carries for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns. He had 28 carries of at least 15 yards in 2023, more than any runner on this list.
TreVeyon Henderson | Ohio State
Earlier this month, ESPN’s Field Yates predicted the Cowboys would pass on running backs like Ashton Jeanty and Omarion Hampton and opt for Henderson, a player he believes “has the open-field speed to make an instant impact on the ground.”
Henderson ran for 1,248 yards as a true freshman in 2021 but was limited by a foot injury during his sophomore and junior seasons. Finally healthy in 2024, the 5-foot-10, 208-pound running back rushed for 1,016 yards in 2024 to help the team win its ninth national championship.
Quinshon Judkins | Ohio State
Judkins ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns and tallied another score through the air to help beat Notre Dame in the CFP championship game and actually led the Buckeyes with career-low marks in yards (1,060) and touchdowns (14). He’d averaged 1,362 yards and 15.5 scores over his previous two seasons.
Like Johnson, PFF gives Judkins a second-round grade and the Cowboys the second-best odds to take him on Friday night. Dallas has nine picks remaining in the draft, including multiple picks in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds.
The draft resumes on Friday, April 25 at 7 p.m. EST for second- and third-round picks with the remaining rounds to be held on Saturday, April 26, at noon EST.
