Selected as the presumed "thunder" to Round 5 pick Jaydon Blue's "lightning," Mafah brings nearly 230 pounds and decent build-up speed to a wide-open Dallas Cowboys backfield as a seventh-round pick. New head coach Brian Schottenheimer has a long track record of giving unproven late-round running backs opportunities, and of the two 2025 rookies, Mafah is a more close stylistic comparison to former Schotty breakouts such as Chris Carson or Rico Dowdle. Mafah will begin the season on IR and is not worth rostering outside of the deepest leagues.
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2024
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2023
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Fantasy News
Cowboys' Phil Mafah: Officially lands on IR
Rotowire
The Cowboys placed Mafah (shoulder) on injured reserve Wednesday.
Mafah suffered a shoulder injury during the preseason finale and will now be sidelined for a minimum of the first four games of the regular season. He'll likely be buried on the depth chart when he returns, but the Cowboys' running back situation is quite uncertain entering the season.
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Cowboys' Phil Mafah: Set to miss time with shoulder injury
Rotowire
The Cowboys plan to place Mafah (shoulder) on IR ahead of Week 1, though the plan is for the running back to return this season, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.
Per Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News, Mafah got banged up during the Cowboys' preseason finale, and now it appears as though the 2025 seventh-rounder is headed to IR, though not the season-ending variety. Assuming the transaction is timed as expected, Mafah would be eligible to resume practicing after missing a minimum of four games.
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Cowboys' Phil Mafah: Punches in TD in preseason finale
Rotowire
Mafah carried the ball twice for 16 yards and a touchdown and failed to catch his only target in Friday's 31-13 preseason win over the Falcons.
The 2025 seventh-round pick didn't see a touch until the fourth quarter, only entering the game on offense after Jaydon Blue (ankle) hobbled off the field. Mafah took advantage of his opportunity however, getting two red-zone carries and punching in the second one from one yard out for Dallas' final TD of the night. Miles Sanders (shoulder) was also held out of the contest, so the Cowboys' depth chart behind presumed Week 1 starter Javonte Williams could be wide open, with Deuce Vaughn also in the mix along with Mafah for any open spots.
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Cowboys' Phil Mafah: Healthy to begin pro career
Rotowire
Mafah indicated Friday that he played through a torn labrum in his shoulder during his final college season at Clemson, Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News reports.
The injury may have contributed to Mafah lasting until the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but he's looked good in padded practices since training camp began, using his physicality and vision to produce some chunk plays. He's in line to see a big workload during Saturday's preseason opener against the Rams due to starter Javonte Williams likely being held out and both Miles Sanders (knee) and 2025 fifth-round pick Jaydon Blue (heel) nursing injuries. A big performance from Mafah could create a very interesting battle in the Cowboys backfield between the two veterans and the two rookies ahead of Week 1.
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Cowboys' Phil Mafah: Adds power to Dallas backfield
Rotowire
The Cowboys selected Mafah in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 239th overall.
Dallas covered its bases with running back selections Day 3. In Jaydon Blue (fifth round), the Cowboys got one of the speediest backs in the class. Mafah brings the thump at 6-foot-1 and 234 pounds. He split the backfield work with Will Shipley at Clemson in 2023 and took 179 carries for 965 yards and 13 scores. As the feature back in 2024, Mafah's workload swelled to 216 carries for 1,115 yards and eight touchdowns. Mafah is far from a speedster but can carve out a role as a short-yardage specialist. Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders will likely see the bulk of the action this season, but a Mafah-Blue backfield could be interesting in the future.
