Ezekiel Elliott is back as RB1 for the Dallas Cowboys, this time as leader of questionable backfield

FRISCO — Mike McCarthy didn’t hesitate or back down from the question.

When asked about running back Ezekiel Elliott being listed the starter on the depth chart ahead of Sunday’s season opener against the Cleveland Browns, McCarthy said it with his chest.

“I approved it,” McCarthy admitted.

The depth charts on the pre-game release is usually done by the public relations staff with cursory approval from McCarthy.

He generally doesn’t go in depth on it because of strategy purposes and they don’t put much stock into starting line ups.

But with so much talk about the Cowboys’ questionable running back position, and Elliott’s return to the team after being cut following the 2022 season because of his salary and a decline in production, his place as a starter is an interesting and obvious storyline heading into the 2024 season, starting Sunday at Cleveland.

Elliott said he returned to Dallas because he had some unfinished business in terms of trying to win a Super Bowl title with the team that drafted him fourth overall in 2016.

But he came back seemingly a shell of his former self.

Elliott, a two-time rushing champion with the Cowboys, spent last year in New England. He led the Patriots in rushing and receiving but totaled career lows in yards (642) and yards per carry (3.5).

He shared the load with the Patriots as he did his final season in Dallas in 2022 when Tony Pollard led the team in rushing, breaking Elliott’s seven-year streak atop the charts.

Elliott will certainly share the load in Dallas in 2024 with the unproven likes of Rico Dowdle, who many people think will get the bulk of the carries over the course of the season, and Deuce Vaughn.

McCarthy has long stated that Cowboys operate a running back-by-committee approach.

“Hey, let’s be honest, you don’t just play with 11 on offense or defense,” McCarthy said. “So I mean usually closer to 14 guys you would consider starters. And this thing even goes further than the depth chart. Because when you want to announce the offense or announce the defense, teams I’ve been a part of you never just announce 11 guys. So I think it’s a product of that. It’ll take more than one running back to, that’s just not the way we want to play. I don’t want to get into rotation.

“We can talk more about this next week but those guys will all play.”

They all will play, but the Cowboys made a point to announce Elliott as the one who goes out with the starters first.

They did that for a reason.

Unlike the other running backs, Elliott did not play in the preseason. The team kept him in bubble wrap and out of harms way. He also conducted limited reps in training camp practices.

McCarthy and owner Jerry Jones both explained they know what Elliott can do. He is tough runner who will be great on short-yardage and the goal line. He is the best pass-protecting running back in the league.

And there was no use adding more wear and tear on his body considering the pounding he has taken over the years.

But he is definitely splitting carries with Dowdle, who McCarthy called a complete three-down back.

Dowdle rushed 89 times for 361 yards and two scores in a limited role last season but is ready for a break out in 2024.

“He’s going to have opportunities,’’ McCarthy said of Dowdle.

And there is also four-time Pro Bowler Dalvin Cook waiting in the wings on the practice squad.

But Elliott is going out first as the starter.

There was never any doubt about that.

That much is clear.