Phil Mafah Popping In Pads

By Jared Smola | Updated on Tue, Jul 29 2025 1:07 PM UTC

Cowboys RB Phil Mafah has caught the eye of HC Brian Schottenheimer since the pads went on in training camp. "The guy Phil Mafah... I'm starting to feel him," Schottenheimer said. "I'm starting to feel Phil."

2025 Fantasy Football Impact

Mafah is a seventh-round rookie out of Clemson who tips the scales at 234 pounds, so it makes sense that he'd look better in full-contact work.

There's not much to get excited about in his college profile, though. Mafah's rushing yardage improved across each of his four seasons at Clemson. But he averaged a mediocre (for college) 5.1 yards per carry for his career, never topping 5.4 in a season. Among 31 RBs at this year's Combine, Mafah ranked:

23rd in 2024 rushing-yardage market share
23rd in yards after contact per attempt
30th in missed tackles forced per attempt
29th in rush yards over expected per attempt
23rd in Pro Football Focus rushing grade

Mafah caught 21 balls in each of the last two seasons, but his 2024 advanced receiving metrics were poor.

We're still not interested in the rookie in redraft right now, although we'll continue to keep a close eye on Dallas' backfield. The Mafah buzz is a reminder that this is a wide-open situation -- and to not believe too strongly in Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders, or Jaydon Blue.

Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and in-season tools. He currently ranks ninth among 173 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.