FRISCO - The days of Emmitt Smith are long gone for the Dallas Cowboys. So, too, the era of success.

We all know the NFL trend de-valuing and diminishing the running back. While Smith won rushing titles and led the Cowboys to Super Bowl in the 1990s by regularly carrying the ball 350+ times per season, last year Tennessee Titans' workhorse Derrick Henry led the league with only 280.

With offenses - and rules - migrating toward the game, there were no running backs selected in the first round of last month's NFL Draft. (Texas' Jonathon Brooks was first off the board at No. 46 overall in the second round.)

But, honestly, the notion of a "feature back" has long been a misnomer. When the Cowboys won Super Bowl VI in the 1971 season their carries were split between Calvin Hill and Duane Thomas. And only four times in NFL history, in fact, has a rushing champion won a Super Bowl: Emmitt three times and the Denver Broncos' Terrell Davis, the last to do it in 1998.

The Kansas City Chiefs have won the last two championships without a running back reaching 1,000 yards or double-digit touchdowns. Isiah Pacheco led them in 2022 with 830 yards and five touchdowns; in 2023 with 945 and seven.

So when Cowboys' head coach Mike McCarthy over the weekend announced a plan to be the dreaded "running back by committee" it actually makes sense. At 29 - or any age - Ezekiel Elliott is no Emmitt Smith.

He won two rushing titles, but at 29 is nowhere near a 350-carry RB1. Still, the last time Zeke wore the star (2022) he split time with Tony Pollard and managed 876 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Pacheco-numbers, right?

Small problem. Good as he is, quarterback Dak Prescott is no Patrick Mahomes and - good as he will be someday - Jake Ferguson isn't yet Travis Kelce.

"We're running back by committee," McCarthy said during rookie minicamp. "But I think Zeke will definitely play at the level that he's played. I don't see any drop off in the way he moves. He's in good shape. He's come in here and picked up right where he's left off."

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Like the Chiefs, Dallas' running game blueprint will be Zeke, Dak and supplements from Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis, Deuce Vaughn and perhaps newcomer Royce Freeman.

And hey, COO Stephen Jones said, “We're not done yet” … so maybe more committee members on the way?’

"I think it's really the times that we're in." McCarthy said. "Seventeen games is a lot of football - that's a big role for those guys. Don't get me wrong, they'd all like to carry it like the old days and have those touches, but you want those guys fresh at the most important time of the year. So, that's all part of planning and how you look at projections of play time."