After the Cowboys traded for Tavon Austin, they said that their plan for Austin this season is to use him as “a web back” in a role similar to the one Lance Dunbar used to fill out of the backfield.
Austin has been a wide receiver to this point in his career and it appears the Cowboys have had such a move in mind for a while now. In an interview with Patrik Walker of 247 Sports, Raiders wideout Ryan Switzer said he felt the Cowboys wanted to put him in a similar role in their offense last season.
Switzer doesn’t think it was a good fit and the trade that sent him to Oakland on the final day of the draft lends support to that notion.
“The more I think on it, I think that they had a different plan for me than what I was capable of doing,” Switzer said. “I don’t know. Looking back I had two or three rushes in the NFL before receptions and I was taking reps at running back at times. I don’t know if were trying to use me as like a scat-back or what. There was a lot of talk about my high school days and being a RB and I don’t think I ever fit that mold as a change-of-pace back or someone with slide sweeps and carries. I don’t know if that’s the plan they had for me [because] it was never spoken, but when I try to piece these things together -- that’s kind of what I’m thinking. ...I think that had a little bit to do with it because I can’t really think of anything else. ...I did, like coach [Jason] Garrett [told] me, I did everything [asked of me] and more. I felt like that, too. I’m not really sure. That’s about as good of a guess as I have.”
Switzer didn’t have much of an offensive role in Dallas -- six catches and four carries -- but saw a lot of work as a returner. He said he feels “a lot more confident” about his chances of contributing on offense in Oakland, although the presence of Amari Cooper, Jordy Nelson and Martavis Bryant means there will be a lot of competition for action as a wideout.
