How High Does Cowboys RB Tony Pollard Rank - vs. Saquon, Jacobs & Derrick Henry - Among NFL Free Agents?

Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard spent 2023 playing under the franchise tag after failing to reach a contract agreement with the team in the offseason.

FRISCO - Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard spent 2023 playing under the franchise tag after failing to reach a contract agreement with the team in the offseason. And now, still with no contract for 2024, he's set to hit the open market on March 13.

And as we prepare for the upcoming offseason, CBS Sports labels Pollard as the No. 18 NFL free agent on its top 25 list. ... placing him at No. 18, which at first blush seems quite lofty.

18. Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys

"Many will point to Pollard's finally being elevated to the No. 1 role as the reason for his relative struggles in 2023, but even a cursory look at his game log and especially a deeper look at the underlying stats like broken tackle rate and explosive play rate reveals how much better he was later in the season than he was early on when he was still working his way back from the broken leg that ended his 2022 campaign. If he can maintain what he did over the latter half of the year, he could be a bargain -- especially if the league views him more as a mere change-of-pace back."

Pollard served as a valuable and efficient No. 2 back behind Ezekiel Elliott for four seasons before getting the No. 1 job upon the departure of Elliott after the 2022 season. 

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While getting the majority of the carries on a Cowboys team that struggled to run the ball at times, Pollard appeared in all 17 games for Dallas, showing his durability after returning from a broken leg suffered during the Divisional Round playoff game against the 49ers in 2022.

Pollard rushed for 1,005 yards on 252 carries last season for an average of 4.0 yards per carry and scored six touchdowns. He also added 55 catches for 311 yards through the air - an important part of Pollard's game.

But it is instructive to check out the other running backs on the free agency list. The website lists Pollard as being better than Austin Ekeler and Derrick Henry, which we find debatable. Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley, which added all together (while not even bothering to include an assortment of other names) means this position in free agency is going to be a game of Musical Chairs - too many solid players and not enough big money to go around ...

And we'd suggest that it might have to be another team that pays Tony Pollard in a way that fits his high ranking.