Scouting Report + Fit:
It’s yet another offseason wherein the Cowboys needed to address the RB position, especially with Rico Dowdle packing up his luggage and heading to the Carolina Panthers in free agency. Finding/creating a tandem with a bruiser like Mafah feels like the prescription for what ails the rushing attack in Dallas, if all goes to plan, seeing as Jaydon Blue was added as a fifth-round pick in this very draft.
And then there are the free agency additions of Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders to make for a robust competition.
Mafah, one of the better pass protectors in the nation due to his size and willingness to do so, can operate as the short-yardage workhorse out of the backfield to pick up the dirty yards, but also has enough versatility to provide the team a receiving option as well, even if only enough to keep defenses off-balance.
His 2,080 combined rushing yards and 21 touchdowns over the past two seasons (and don’t forget the 186-yard, two touchdown detonation against Notre Dame in 2023) for a mostly successful and highly-scrutinized Clemson program tells you he’s got juice for the next level, and was also an invite to this year’s East-West Shrine Bowl.
What I’d like to see from him, more than anything, is the decision to go north and south whenever the opportunity presents itself, because he often depends so heavily on his ability to change direction and make defenders miss that he, at times, shimmies and shakes when he should be all gas and no brakes.
And keep the pads low, with that power, versus going vertical too soon as he runs — in ways that help defenders.
Strong, downhill and excited to deliver punishment to would-be tacklers, I expect Mafah, whose footwork is also Gregory Hines-level, to tap dance his way into the heat of the RB competition in Dallas.