The Dallas Cowboys bucked recent tradition by taking a running back with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Ezekiel Elliott was the best back in college football last season, and one of the best in recent memory; he was also reportedly the top player on Dallas' draft board. So it should come as no surprise that the Cowboys have no plans to ease Elliott into the offense to conserve him for later in the season or later in his career.

According to ESPN's Todd Archer, they're going to throw him into the fire as a three-down workhorse right away.

There are a couple ways of viewing this strategy. One is that the Cowboys know running backs tend to have short careers and they're not going to waste one of the few peak years Elliott has by easing him into the offense; they want to just get him going right away and ride him for all he's worth while he's still a top-level talent.

Considering there are only a few more years left in Tony Romo's career (at best), it makes some degree of sense to get all you can out of Elliott while you know your quarterback is capable of playing at a high level.

The other way of viewing this is that the Cowboys are planning to ride their highest pick in years right away, and that will shorten the length of time that he'll be able to contribute to the team at a high level. Romo won't be around forever, after all, and we all saw how long it took the Cowboys to find another high-level quarterback after Troy Aikman retired. If Elliott's not around to carry the post-Romo offense until they find their next QB of the future, who will do it?

Either way, it's clear Zeke is going to play a big role from Day 1, so what does that mean for the other backs on Dallas' roster?

They have last season's leading rusher, Darren McFadden, as well as the returning-from-an-ACL-tear Lance Dunbar, free agent acquisition Alfred Morris, and late-round draft pick Darius Jackson all in camp together. Here's Archer on the backup running back situation:

There's a lot to unpack there. Dunbar, obviously, is still working his way back from that injury. As the most pure pass-catching back on the roster as well as an ace return man, he likely has a role on the roster once he gets back. But Archer said that 1) Morris and McFadden will both make the roster; and 2) McFadden might be a trade piece.

Morris has done well in the zone-blocking run game the Cowboys use, notably in his first season in Washington with Robert Griffin III under center. Dallas uses a little more of a power style zone system than Washington did, but the one-cut-and-go attack Morris uses is a good fit behind an offensive line that creates some of the widest holes in the league.

McFadden excelled in that system last season, but if Elliott is the starter, Morris is the No. 2, and Dunbar is the scatback/return man, is there really a role for McFadden on the roster? We're skeptical a soon-to-be 29-year old running back with a history of injuries and little success outside Dallas has much value on the trade market, but it would at least make sense for the Cowboys to see what they can get for his services so long as they feel Dunbar or Jackson is ready to contribute.

The Cowboys have needs all over the field on defense, but especially up front. If they can swing a player from a position of strength in exchange for one at a position of weakness, that would make a lot of sense.