Shocking comp shows Cowboys could select their next Marion Barber in NFL Draft

One NFL Draft prospect turned in a Relative Athletic Score very similar to Marion Barber.

Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins during the 2025 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Dallas Cowboys are overhauling their running back room. They lost Rico Dowdle in free agency and replaced him with Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders.

They're not expected to stop there either. Dallas has been linked to several running back prospects in the upcoming NFL Draft, and it's easy to get excited about many of them in this loaded class.

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One player often linked to them on Day 2 is Ohio State's Quinshon Judkins. An Ole Miss transfer, Judkins ran for 3,785 yards and 45 touchdowns in his three collegiate seasons. If his production isn't enough for Dallas fans to get pumped about his potential addition, maybe a shocking comparison to a former fan favorite will.

Brandon Loree of Blogging the Boys shared Judkins' Relative Athletic Score ahead of the draft, and his numbers are nearly identical to Marion Barber III's when he entered the league 20 years ago.

Ohio State RB Quinshon Judkins is this generation's Marion Barber III.#Cowboys fans should be excited if Dallas drafted him next month.

(📸: @MathBomb) pic.twitter.com/T1hfUuNqyA

— Brandon Loree (@Brandoniswrite) March 28, 2025

Judkins and Barber are nearly identical in size and weight, and both ran just under 4.5 in the 40-yard dash. Judkins outperformed the former Minnesota Gopher on the bench press, 24 reps to 20 reps.

Dallas Cowboys running back Marion Barber celebrates scoring a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Indianapolis Colts. | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Barber was selected in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft and spent six years in Dallas. He never topped 1,000 yards, often due to working in a committee, but he was a beast in the red zone. Over his Cowboys' career, Barber had 47 touchdowns, with 24 of those in 2006 and 2007.

Judkins would likely get more of a lead-back role than Barber did but adding someone who can break tackles and find the end zone the way the Barbarian could would be a great addition to this offense.

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