Malik Davis News

An undrafted rookie out of Florida, Davis made an impression in camp and began the season on the practice squad before taking over the No. 3 RB spot on the Dallas depth chart after Rico Dowdle (ankle) was lost for the year in October. Davis scored his first NFL touchdown in Week 12 against the Colts, but his best performance came with Tony Pollard (ankle) sidelined in Week 17, when the rookie turned 12 touches into 62 yards against a stingy Titans run defense. Both Pollard, an unrestricted free agent, and Ezekiel Elliott, a declining veteran with a big contract, have somewhat uncertain futures with the Cowboys, so depending on what happens in the offseason it's possible Davis will head into 2023 with a more prominent role.

The Cowboys' offense ended the regular season with a whimper and scored only six points, while Davis' 19 rushing yards actually tied for the team lead. Heading into a wild-card round matchup with the Buccaneers, the undrafted rookie out of Florida remains firmly behind Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard on the depth chart, and Davis might only see action Monday if things have gone very well, or very poorly, for Dallas.

Davis ended up being much more efficient than backfield mate Ezekiel Elliott, who gained just 39 yards on his 17 carries, albeit while also scoring a touchdown. The undrafted rookie's carry total was a career high, as were his rushing and receiving yardage tallies. Even if Tony Pollard (thigh) garners active status for the Week 18 road matchup against the Commanders a week from Sunday, Davis could still have a role in that game if the Cowboys limit the workload of their top two backs in that contest.

Elliott and Pollard have worked in a fairly equitable timeshare over the past six weeks when both backs have been available, but with Pollard sitting out Week 17, look for Elliott to occupy a larger portion of the backfield work, at least during the first half of the contest. However, with most sportsbooks listing the Cowboys as two-touchdown favorites against a Titans squad that will be breaking in a new starting quarterback (Joshua Dobbs) and resting several key players in a game that doesn't dramatically affect their postseason odds, Dallas could end up turning the game into a runaway by halftime or the third quarter. If that kind of game script comes to fruition, Elliott could be rested for most of the second half, paving the way for Davis to see more opportunities. Most of Davis' opportunities to date this season have come in garbage-time scenarios, with the rookie carrying 23 times for 103 yards and a touchdown and adding four receptions for 40 yards on five targets across 47 total snaps on offense.

Seeing action late in the fourth quarter during garbage time with the game well in hand, Davis wrapped up the scoring with a 23-yard TD scamper. It was the rookie's first career touchdown in the NFL, but it may not be his last this season as the Cowboys' high-powered offense could run up the score against more opponents, including the lowly Texans in Week 14.

The Cowboys had plenty of garbage-time snaps to go around, and Davis wound up nearly matching the season-high 10 touches he saw in Week 8 when Ezekiel Elliott was sidelined. Elliott (47 scrimmage yards, two TDs) and Tony Pollard (189 scrimmage yards, two TDs) were both very productive Sunday and remain entrenched in the backfield, so Davis should fall back into a pure depth role for Dallas' Thanksgiving game against the Giants -- assuming the final score is a little bit closer than it was against the Vikings.