Ezekiel Elliott started just five games for the Patriots last season, starting the final five games when Rhamondre Stevenson suffered a sprained ankle. Elliott returned to the Cowboys this offseason and will begin the season as the RB1 by default.

The Cowboys list Elliott as their starting running back and coach Mike McCarthy confirmed his approval on Wednesday.

“Hey, let’s be honest. You don’t just play 11 on offense or defense,” McCarthy said, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. “So, I mean, normally it’s more like 14 guys that you would consider as starters. And this thing goes even further than the lineup because when you want to announce an offense or defense, you never announce just 11 guys on the teams I’ve played on. So I think that’s a product of that. So it’s going to take more than one running back, too. That’s just not how we want to play. I don’t want to get into rotation. We can talk more about that next week, but those guys are all going to play.”

Elliott may not get the most action or touches for the Cowboys, as they let Tony Pollard leave as a free agent and replaced him with Elliott and Dalvin Cook, who they recently signed to the practice squad.

Rico Dowdle recently said he expects a bigger role on offense, and that’s likely the case at running back by committee. Dowdle was Pollard’s backup last season and had 89 carries for 361 yards.

The only Cowboys running back with extensive experience as a special teams player is Malik Davis, who is on the practice squad.

Dallas’ roster includes rookie Marist Liufau ahead of DeMarvion Overshown at linebacker, and three other rookies will start. Cornerback Caelon Carson became the starter after DaRon Bland’s injury, and center Cooper Beebe and left tackle Tyler Guyton earned starting spots.

Since the AFL-NFL merger, the Cowboys have never used four rookies in a season opener.